The Chosen One - Lost Memories
by atikabubu
Summary: The final story for the Chosen One series, including Fate of Lehistan.
1. Chapter 1 - Cosmic Depression

**Disclaimer**

 **I do not hold the intellectual property rights to the Strike Witches franchise, or any other book, comic, song, movie, or other work of art I reference. Original Content created by me is copyrighted by me alone. All brand names are property of the respective parties owning rights to them. This disclaimer is valid hereinafter and won't be repeated in the following chapters.**

 **Partial copyright by Doran Maya**

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 **Hello again, for the final time.**

 **This will be a rather short story, taking place after Cold War Crisis.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1 – Cosmic Depression

 _A vast multiverse, spanning over hundreds of universes, containing endless galaxies, each filled with various life forms, both sentient or not and yet, why am I not satisfied? Why am I sitting on the top of a mountain right now and contemplating about my existence in categories of failure? What's wrong? I am an Elder God, and yet, I feel some weird emptiness inside of me._

 _Right now, I'm in a special universe that I co-created with Mavet, an Elder God that is my friend. He is actually my best friend of all of the lot. Witty, good looking, and charismatic – he's just like me, and we're on the same page a lot of times, just as when we created this universe._

 _A real paradise, one could say. The planet we're on we called_ Shamayim _is just what the name implies. A feast for the eye and ones very soul. I can see Mavet and his female weapon partner, Maeve, walking around slowly. She's giggling all the time, which also causes Mavet to laugh. But they seem to be happy with each other, not on a friendship level. But I don't understand how it works._

 _I also have a partner. Her name is Oblivion Lost. A blonde woman in a sleek black bodysuit matching mine, who is always pestering me. It's always "Master this" and "Master that". She literally can't take a hint that I want to be alone some at times._

"Maaasteeeer!" she suddenly runs up to me, shouting with a cheerful voice that wants to make me puke.

"What?" I answer in the grumpiest way I can muster.

"Master, look how the two are happy… Umm… Maybe we could… Walk along together?" she asks shyly.

"No. If I want to take a walk, I'll walk alone."

"But Master…" she grabs my hand, and that finally tips me off.

I take a backhand swing, and slap her with my open hand in her left cheek. The sound echoes around us, and she grabs her cheeks absolutely surprised.

"M-Master…"

"Why don't you take a hint and fuck off!" I shouted. "I don't know what game you're playing, but stop!"

"Master…" she says with her eyes getting wet.

"For all these years, you've been doing some strange attempts at… I don't even know what you want! But you won't have to worry about me anymore!" I yelled and disappeared.

 _I appear in a small void I created beforehand. The silence is almost tangible, contrary to anything else, as not even a single sub-quantum particle isn't present here beside me. I think I don't have any purpose to exist anymore. I should just dissolve myself from this plane of existence. One thought, and I'm gone forever, without a trace remaining…_

"Hi there," I suddenly hear behind me.

I turn around, and see a blonde woman floating behind me. I know her.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "Shouldn't you be tending to your own stuff?"

"I should, but I was delegated to help you. I don't know in what way, just the notion was announced to me," she explains calmly.

"Help me? I doubt you can help me…" I sigh deeply. "I've lost the meaning of life. Just before you popped up, I've contemplated about committing suicide."

She raised an eyebrow visibly and asked, "Why would you want to that?"

"I find no more joy in my existence. And I'm becoming ever more frustrated, since there's something incomprehensible for me missing in my life."

"Something missing?" she asked. "Power?"

"Have that in abundance."

"Knowledge?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Humor also isn't missing I see," she noted. "Love then?"

"What is love?" I ask, genuinely surprised myself. "I know the meaning of the word, but… The word itself is empty for me…"

"I see… This is your missing feature…" she pondered. "I might have a solution for you, Adam."

"Do tell? I doubt it will help…"

"You can only help your depression with waiting it out," she said. "You should fall into stasis."

"Then I'll be interrupted," I answer.

"So you have to expend your godly might in an act of creation, so that you won't be detectable."

"And what after that? I will be miraculously healed?"

"No. When the time is right, you have to perform a rebirth. Experience a life of a simple human being, so when you reawaken, you'll have a different perspective on things. You should know that it works like that yourself."

 _She's right… But I haven't thought like that, because I was too downright depressed… She actually saved my life._

"But what about my creation?" I ask.

My guest placed her hand on her chest and said, "I promise on my honor as the Goddess of the Seven Stars that I will protect your multiverse. However, what you created together with Mavet is excluded from my protection."

"That's quite a burden you're taking upon your shoulders. Would it be too much to ask if you would do me one more favor?"

"Ask, and I'll see what I can do."

I form a black ball in my hand, glowing with a faint white light, and pass it on to her.

"Why not just let me read your mind?" she asks slightly irritated.

"I'm not used, nor will I ever allow somebody to mess with my mind, even in read-only mode."

"Okay then… Let's see…" she pondered upon the ball. "That's a reasonable request. A bit eccentric, but doable for me. Just don't bear ill will towards me when you're mortal."

"I won't remember that anyway."

"True," she smiled

I smile too and say, "You shouldn't be here right now."

"Oh? Why so?"

"Because it will be hot here," I laugh. "Thank you for the tip, and I hope we see each other _soon_!"

The void around them expanded into nigh infinity in a blink of an eye, and Adam disappeared. His guest looked at a random point in the void, and she was almost blinded by an enormous cosmic explosion. She quickly teleported out to the Nexus surrounding the void, and watched as a new galaxy was born out of the explosion.

 _I hope we do see each other, Adam. Right now, I have so much on my plate that I don't know whether I will survive…_

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 **Just an FYI - this chapter happens before the Chosen One series.**

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 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**

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	2. Chapter 2 – Rulers Infidelity

Chapter 2 – Rulers Infidelity

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"Great-great-an-so-on-grandma!" a girl with long dark hair cheered as she ran to a similar young woman with a friend higher than her by a few good centimeters.

She looked at her sudden guests, and after a bit of pondering, she replied, "Are you two from the Miyafune and Ranmaru family branches?"

The tall girl tilted her head, but her friend said, "Yup. I'm Aya Edelweiss-Romanov, and this is…"

"Nami Ranmaru! Pleased to meet ya, Rinko _baa-san_!" she cheered as the metaphorical cogs in her head clicked together.

"Ah, so I guessed right," she smiled. "And what or _who_ do I owe this visit?"

"Heheh…" Aya giggled. "Grandpa Toshiro told us to start talking with our ancestors. I wanted to talk to you alone, Grandma, but Nami kinda tagged along."

"Ah, I see," Rinko nodded slowly. "It's truly a godsend that we can meet with each other, despite centuries that passed between the time we were alive," she sighed. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Nami cheered.

Rinko giggled and said, "Everything would be a too long story, even though we have all eternity to talk. I'll condense the most important parts, and focus on one part of my life specifically."

"Fine with me," Aya smiled. "Please, start."

"This is a story of a simple witch, that is me, Rinko Miyafune," she started. "As I watch how at my descendants frolic around the endless plains of Amaterasu-sama, I can't believe something like that could happen… Even _he_ is close by with _her_. It is incredible how my male descendant and one of her descendants…" she looked at Nami. "…managed to bring peace between our two family branches… And it all began hundreds of years ago…"

* * *

In the year 1580, according to the Christian calendar, I have met him, the great warlord Oda Nobunaga. He was already at the stout age of 45, and I was only eighteen. A twenty year old beautiful witch with long black hair, and a great magic potential moved the hearts of many men, at least that's what I was told. Truth be told, I was indifferent to the opposite gender up until I met _him_.

It was June 23, Nobunaga's 45th birthday. My _sensei_ was invited with me to perform "feats of magic" as she told me. Witches weren't a rare sight in the Sengoku period, but they weren't as common as my descendants tell me. My inherent magic was mastery of flames, both produced by my own magic, and those created through naturally or intently by people. My _sensei_ in turn had control over water, which was ironic. Fire and water supposedly didn't mix together well, but we had a very good relationship with each other, both on a teacher-student plane, and privately, as two friends.

My sensei, Kaguya Momoyama, was _only_ fifteen years older than I was at the time, but her knowledge was unparalleled. She took me in for training after my powers manifested abruptly at the age of eight. Thank the _kami_ that it was in the middle of a rice paddy, or things could have gone ugly. Despite her young age, she whipped me up in shape quickly and mercilessly, but she also had her soft side, treating me like her adoptive daughter after training was done for the day.

At Nobunaga's birthday party, which was grandiose, we did a _standard_ performance. Standard by our measure, but hah, show me another pair of water-fire magic users who could do that better! Fire-breathing dragons, lots of steam, water pillars – everything made the gathered revered guests gasp in wonder. But the one that was most impressed with us was of course the _daimyo_ himself. He was so impressed, that he took me in as one of his own personal bodyguards. At first I was happy, but then I looked back at Kaguya-sensei. Nobunaga saw that, and he asked us about our shields.

Kaguya simply bowed and said, "Nobunaga-sama, please let me inform you that my shield is way past the period of its usefulness. However, the shield of the young Rinko is at peak condition, and will serve you well if you so wish."

"But Kaguya-sensei…" I said quietly, shedding a few tears.

"This is a new opening for you, my dear Rinko-chan," she hugged me dearly. "

One of the first persons that I met was Goemon Ishikawa. She was a _kunoichi_ , aged 22 back then, always wearing a mask. Her duty was to protect the ruler from the shadow. She was a bit reserved towards me at first, but at rare times when we talked, we meshed quite nicely. Might I add that she was well endowed? Too well for somebody of her profession I think…

Another person I met was… Mori Ranmaru, fifteen back when I first met her. She was cheerful, just like you, Nami-chan, and just as beautiful. She was one of the witches from the famous Nobunaga Flying Corps, and she took great pride in it, although her flight was a bit clunky, just as her flying gear. I asked Nobunaga if I were to become one like her, but her responded that he needs somebody to protect him on the ground.

And there was also Nōhime – the wife of Nobunaga. If I considered myself a beauty, and even admitted that Ranmaru was pretty, then she was a goddess. Despite the fact that she was the same age as Nobunaga, her outer beauty was resplendent. And her mind was as sharp as the greatest katanas made by Murasame and Masamune alike! But she had an eye on me from the first day, and I don't mean in terms of sodomic relationships…

You have to know that Nobunaga was a hound. He wouldn't miss an occasion with the ladies, but his wife somewhat restricted him. The case was however invalid when concerning me. I soon came to know what love means. Nobunaga started courting me, and as a young maiden, I didn't yet know how to respond. But I let himself into me for his 46th birthday. That was my first time lying down with a man… Walls have ears however, and soon Nōhime started being gruffer then usual towards me. I confessed that to Nobunaga, and soon something happened…

The next day, I was supposed to go to a cave nearby the castle after dark. I did so, and after waiting an hour or so, Goemon came with a big sack.

"You?" I asked. "What are you doing here, Goemon-san?"

"I came her on behalf of our master with an offering," she replied with a cold voice and threw the bag towards me.

The bag hit the cave floor and tipped over. Something tumbled out of it, and because the torch I carried gave a dim light, I picked that thing up and looked closer.

* * *

"I have a bad feeling…" Nami said with a green face.

"That's the sad truth…" Rinko sighed. "But let's resume my story. When I picked up the _item_ , I honestly screamed from the top of my lungs. Straight into Goemon's palm that is."

* * *

"You will wake up everyone in the prefecture, Rinko-chan," she said calmly. "Relax."

When she took her hand of my mouth I asked, "How can I relax when I'm holding the severed head of my master's wife?"

"This is the master's offering towards you, Rinko-chan. Do you understand the meaning of it?"

"I… I think I do…"

I quickly came to a conclusion that you two would probably come too yourselves – Nobunaga was mad in love with me, so much even that he would kill his wife to be with me. Me, a simple farm girl, from a family that barely made a _koku_ yearly.

"But what now, Goemon-san? This will surely be discovered."

"The Master said that this is also a part of the offering. This, meaning the disposal of her earthily remains."

"You mean… I have to…"

She only nodded in return.

* * *

"Wait, Grandma, does that mean you had to…" Aya asked carefully.

"Don't interrupt me, child," Rinko flicked Aya's forehead. "I know that judging by your grandfather, you're an intelligent beast, but let me narrate on my own, okay?"

"Kay…" Aya muttered with a sulky face.

* * *

I put the head of Nōhime back into the bag, and lit it on fire. The flames started lighting up lazily, and may the _kami_ save you from what I smelled at the time. The burning skin, fat, and hair could make the strongest man throw up, but I knew I had to endure this.

"Make the fire stronger, Rinko-chan," Goemon said. "Or we'll die here along with her."

In my shaken state I couldn't control my magic output so well, so I overestimated the flame I had to apply and Nōhime's body burned in a flame as bright as the sun. One the blaze receded, and my eyes adapted to the dim lighting of the single torch we had, I saw that only a very small pile of ash remained. Goemon pulled out a small urn and swept the ashes inside of it.

"She has to receive a proper burial anyway," she said.

I started shaking on my whole body uncontrollably as everything suddenly came to me in full clarity. Goemon ended her sweep, and after storing away the urn, she approached me, and knelt down.

" _Denka_ , please, let's return to the castle."

She called me "your Highness" and just like that, I understood the situation I found myself in.

"Goemon…?"

"Yes, _denka_?"

"Can we still be friends?"

I saw Goemon raising her eyebrow, and for the first time, at least before me, she pulled down her mask. Nobunaga knew what he was doing, as she also was a beauty.

"I can call you as I called you until now in private, is that a good assumption, _denka_?"

"Of course," I smiled. "And it goes the other way around, I hope?"

"Of course," she smiled back.

We returned to the castle, and things got pretty dandy for me, just up to 1582. I noticed that Mori started getting close to Nobunaga. Too close. I wasn't one to enact petty justice, but I had another plan. I sweet-talked Nobunaga into having a child with me, and at least that part was successful. Seeing that I was expecting, Mori stopped approaching my beloved, and I thought this battle was over.

And then, Akechi Mitsuhide decided that he had enough of Nobunaga.

* * *

"The Incident at Honnō-ji!" Nami cheered. "Ah, whoops… Sorry for interrupting…"

"Well, at least you know your history," Rinko giggled. "Back to my story…"

* * *

Five months into my pregnancy, Mitsuhide surrounded the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto. In a fierce fight, Nobunaga, Ranmaru, Goemon, and even I resisted the overwhelming forces, but it was futile. However, Ranmaru utilized her flight device and transported Nobunaga into safety. I was furious. I was so furious, that a simple page carried my beloved into safety that I utilized the flames roaring around me, and I burned every single soldier of the Mitsuhide coup to cinders, including the leader himself.

Things after Honnō-ji seemed to be _normal_ but then one night, in the eight month, I felt an urge.

* * *

"You two were pregnant; you probably know what I'm talking about."

"A late night tinkle?" Aya giggled.

"Indeed," Rinko smiled.

* * *

Fortunately or not, and depending for whom, I was sleeping alone. Nobody noticed I crept out of my room, and as I was sneaking around the castle, I heard something. I came closer to the room the noises were coming, and I heard coital noises. And I could recognize who it was immediately. Just to be sure, I quietly pushed a hole in the paper screen door, and I saw something that decided upon the rest of my life.

* * *

Aya was opening her mouth, but Rinko stomped her into the ground with just a single annoyed gaze.

* * *

As you probably already guessed, my beloved was under that wench Mori, and they both enjoyed it, that was sure. I walked slowly towards the door leading outside, and then I saw that Goemon is by my side. I couldn't help it, as I started silently crying almost immediately. She did something that I didn't thought she could do, as she hugged me tightly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you…"

"Your loyalty is by that son of a bitch… Prepare an escape for me, tomorrow. There is no more place for me in this castle. Can I trust you that you won't tell him?"

"I won't tell the Master unless he asks me."

"Fair enough…"

The next day, he was behaving as if nothing happened, and so did I. But my preparations were in motion. I took some gold, and a treasured piece from Nobunaga's possession, a platinum-diamond ring made by a Jesuit missionary."

* * *

"I know that one," Aya smiled.

"Toshiro told me all about it. He gave it to a museum just asking for a copy, because it was his beloved's engagement ring."

"Heh…" Aya giggled. "The same ring was also my wedding ring."

"Would you look at that?" Rinko asked amazed. "You'll tell me the details later, but for now…"

* * *

I escaped under the cloak of darkness, carrying only the gold and some provisions, clad in the clothes of a commoner. I knew the surrounding of the castle perfectly, so I didn't involve Goemon further. I decided to escape east. But in the mountains near Yokosuka, some assailants found me. Thankfully, Goemon wasn't with them, because that would be a tragic waste. There were ten of them, and I dispatched exactly ten in just a minute. They probably thought that advanced pregnancy would hinder my combat capabilities. Well, not my flame magic, since I could fling fireballs around while being stationary.

Continuing my journey, I found a mountain temple. The priestesses there took me into asylum without batting an eyelid, not caring who I was. A week later, I went into labor. I had a bad feeling, because I was getting very week with each minute. In a quick decision, I donated all the gold I had to the temple, but the ring was supposed to be given to my child. After a final push, I heard the scream of an infant, but it was muffled down as if I was underwater. My sight was failing me, but I saw her, connected to me with an umbilical cord.

"Is… Is it a girl?"

"Yes," the midwife said and placed her in my weak arms.

I felt the warmth of a newborn child as my own body slowly started losing its warmth.

"Her name… is Keiko, please… take care… of… her…"

Then, I gave up my life, with a smile on my face.

* * *

"Why are you two crying?" Rinko asked, looking at the two bawling before her.

"So… saaaaaaaad…" Nami cried.

Rinko patted the two on the heads simultaneously and said, "You two are good girls. You should go and find Keiko now."

"Yeah…" Aya said and blew her nose in a tissue she conjured out of seemingly nowhere.

"Oh, nice trick," Rinko said.

"That's… A special power," Aya winked.

Rinko looked around, and by pure chance, she spotted a certain girl.

"Keeeeikoooo!"

The girl turned around, and looked at the three, shouting back, "Mooooom!"

"Come here, Keiko!"

"Kaaaaay!"

The girl ran to the three, and said, "Hi Mom. Hello… Uhhh…"

"Aya."

"Nami."

"Well hello!" she cheered. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'll leave you girls alone," Rinko said and stood up. "Keiko, be a good daughter and talk with the two, okay?"

"Well okay, Mom," she smiled. "So what do the two of you want to know?"

"The story of your life," Aya said.

"Mmmmmm… And why should I tell you?" she mused.

"I'm your grand-to-the-umpteenth-daughter." Aya said.

"And your cousin in the same degree," Nami smiled.

"Hoohoooo! Well this is nice! Okay, huddle up you two, I'll tell you the story of my pitiful life."

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 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	3. Chapter 3 – Short Peace

Chapter 3 – Short Peace

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"By the way, is it only me, or do you two also remember everything from birth till death?" Keiko asked.

"Actually… Yes, I do," Aya replied surprised. "If I focus hard enough… Uhuh… Amazing!"

Nami frowned and closed her eyes, but quickly she opened them and shouted, "Wow!"

Suddenly, a small whirl made of _sakura_ petals appeared, and amidst it, a dark-haired woman in a violet kimono with floral patterns appeared.

"Oh, hi Ami!" Aya cheered.

"For fucks sake!" Amaterasu shouted. "Not you too!?"

"Wait, Ami?" Keiko asked. "Oh shiiiiiiiit!" she shouted and started prostrating.

"Took you your sweet time to recognize me…" the goddess sighed. "Get up, Keiko. In this afterlife, I won't bother you with stuff from your brief existence. And your sin was absolved with a markup by Toshiro anyway, so you don't have to sweat around me."

"R-Really?" she asked carefully as she raised her head.

"Really," Amaterasu said softly.

"Uh, who are you again?" Nami asked suddenly.

The goddess shook her head in disdain and said, "You surely saw my apparition on paintings…"

"Paintings? Are you some kind of historical figure?"

"Incredible… But I don't blame you; you haven't been all that religious in your life," Amaterasu shrugged.

"Religious?" Nami asked and looked closer at Amaterasu. "Oh, you're that goddess! Uhh… Whatsherface!"

Amaterasu gave Nami a sour face, but then a lightbulb almost literally popped up above her head.

"You're just playing dumb!" Ami shouted triumphantly.

Nami snickered fiercely and said, "Yes, I'm sorry, old habits never die. Of course I know who you are, you called us to that big meeting back then when Cousin deified everyone."

"Heh, right… I had to test the outreach of my new power, so I just forcefully teleported everyone. And damn me, but that surprised the afterlife out of me, hahaha!"

Nami snorted and burst out into laughter, causing a bit of consternation from around Keiko, but Aya only giggled and said, "Ami is very friendly towards humans."

"I see…"

"If I didn't knew better, I'd smite you all!" Amaterasu laughed and put her hand forward to Nami. "Amaterasu-ōmikami, pleased to meet you in person."

"Oh, hi there, I'm Nami! Buuut, you probably know that," Nami snickered as she shook her hand.

"I know a loooot of stuff," Amaterasu mused. "So, you probably want to know why you can remember your lives so vividly?"

"Well yeah," Aya said.

"You're dead, so something like a brain and its drawbacks don't concern you, simple as that."

"Sounds legit," Nami shrugged.

"Right? Aya, I want to talk to you after you're finished with Keiko, okay?"

"Sure thing, Ami," Aya smiled and looked as the goddess disappeared.

"Now, where were we?" Keiko asked. "Ah, yes, my miserable life. Sit down, and I'll tell you aaaaaaaaall about it."

* * *

My years as a young lass were rather carefree, to be perfectly honest. The head priestess was like a mother to me, just like she was a figurative mother to all of the priestesses. I haven't had trouble with finding friends, as there was a girl a year younger, and a year older than me in the temple.

You may laugh at me, since it's obvious now, but I was taught how to read and write, thoroughly and painfully, I might add. I was taught all the various rituals and whatever is a priestess did. Did I already say I had a carefree life? Yeah, I probably did. I gained responsibilities with age, but I wasn't swamped with them suddenly, everything came gradually.

First helping in the kitchen, or more like trying not to get in the way of the older priestesses, then actually doing something meaningful like washing dishes or my first attempts at cooking. Ugh, that was a catastrophe. But anyway, I also swept the temple grounds, washed the floors in the living area, et cetera.

* * *

"How did the temple look anyway?" Aya asked. "I remember Grandpa telling me that it was placed in the side of the mountain?"

"You're probably referring to the state Toshiro found it in? I'll get to that later, give me second, kay?"

"Heheh, Kei…" Nami chuckled.

"Hey, hey, we're not that close yet…" Keiko pouted. "Well, continuing…"

* * *

The _Shinka-no-jinja_ itself was a small masterpiece of architecture. The entrance was an ornate portal, leading through a broad but short pathway. Inside, you had an enormous cavern, open from the top, which gave us light and rainwater, but in case of heavy rain or snow, we had a drainage system. The temple itself was a rather normal temple, from what I could gather, but it still was amazing.

Once I turned thirteen, I became initiated. I could finally see what the hubbub was about that whole Sacred Flame. I was led into the secret room, where a white flame was burning on it's own, floating in the air above an altar decorated with a _shimenawa_ rope.

And you know what was weird? My magic manifested right then. Up until that moment, I didn't even know I was capable of magic! My fellow priestesses took it as a good omen, and I started being trained with the use of my magic. Practice, practice, and more practice – that's how you usually train. But I had an addition to that pattern. Every year, I received something called a Spark of the Sacred Flame.

* * *

"Oh, wuzzat?!" Nami asked vividly.

"I'm getting to that, calm down!"

* * *

So every year, I received a small incense stick, lit with the Sacred Flame. After meditating upon it, my power grew. It wasn't a groundbreaking power-up, but it was noticeable. I asked Himiko, the head priestess, why I couldn't get more of that.

"The Sacred Flame is a potent godly magical sacred entity, my child. If you were to take it into your body more often, or the _kami_ forbid, as a whole, you would go mad."

Of course, I had no saying in the temple, because of my young age, but that spurred me to become more powerful on my own, but at the same time, I was assigned to the _economics division_ in the temple. Our goal was to provide for the temple, since it _was_ a bit remote, and the donations weren't always enough, so we went to Yokosuka or even farther to search out for sponsors.

I was nervous for my first trip, because for thirteen years, I only saw the city from afar, if there was good weather. We went in a group of four: me, Kunika, the one that was a year older than me, Ryuuko, our _treasurer_ , and lastly there was Chiyo, the one of the _defenders_ of our temple.

* * *

"Defenders?" Aya asked.

"We were all women, Aya," Keiko said. "Bandits, rogue witches, you name it – there were many who would want to plunder the temple and do many _things_ to us. So Himiko decided that we will have a guard unit, made out of the tomboyish girls, and those with great offensive magic."

"Hold on… Why weren't you assigned to that unit then?" Nami asked.

"I'll get to that, damn you!" Keiko laughed.

* * *

I was amazed by how big the town was, how many different people there were going around. But I also had contact with the cancer festering upon the flesh of this world: poverty, violence, slavery. Kunika and I were shocked by what happened around us, but Ryuuko said that this was necessary; that we had to see how the world looks like outside the comfy cocoon of our temple.

Then I met him – a common boy in ragged clothes, with a distinct birthmark above his left eyebrow. He gave me a peach, which I probably should refuse right then, but I was too amazed to do anything. Chiyo gave me a kick in the ass so I would move, since we were already going home.

Back at the temple, I was bedazzled by what happened. My focus was utterly lost, and I was treating the peach like some kind of relic. And of course Himiko found out.

"My child, it has come to my attention that you're rather… hmm… absent minded lately."

"Oh? I don't feel like it…"

"Your own words only confirm that, Sweetie," she placed her hand on my head. "I think I have to tell you about some things, especially since you have started bleeding lately."

Himiko lectured me for a good hour, telling me about the proverbial _birds and bees_ , some stuff about women physiology, and about love. But contrary to what you might believe, she didn't outright demonize it. She calmly and rationally explained everything, both from the standpoint of a woman, and a priestess.

What was predictable was the fact that she forbade me from intersexual contacts, especially at such a young age.

* * *

"And did it work?" Nami asked.

"It should have worked, but my character was always a bit uncouth and rebellious. You'd think thoroughly explaining about the dangers of the forbidden fruit would make you covet it less, right?"

"Sorta," Nami shrugged.

* * *

Our sponsor rallies were a monthly event, and I was assigned to each one for a while. During each one, the boy found me. During our second meeting, he told me his name – Hiroto. He wasn't that a commoner I thought he was, because he was the son of a not-so-wealthy merchant. From meeting to meeting, each of us learned a bit about each other. But as I could be predicted, Himiko got wind of it, and after the sixth one, she gave me such a _lecture_ that I couldn't sit for two days straight. Immediately I was also moved to the guard squad, so my abilities and ego could find a focal point.

I was angry at first, but then I realized I was moved to a more prestigious _division_. Hiroto quickly faded from my memories, and I was now happy that I had this new function. I quickly advanced in the ranks, and by my eighteenth birthday, I was vice-captain of the guard.

And from thereon, my life went down the crapchute.

Soon after my eighteenth birthday, and after my promotion, Himiko told me about my heritage. Up until then, I was told that I was found on the doorstep of the temple, without anyone in sight. She told me about who my mother was, and who my father was. She also told me why I was here, and that my mother died in labor. She even gave me that ring, as a memento of my mother.

* * *

"And how did you react?" Aya asked cautiously.

"I. Was. Furious," she answered slowly.

* * *

That was probably the first time I rebelled for real and in all seriousness. The first thing I have done was to find Hiroto. Since I was the vice-captain of the guard, I knew almost everything about how the patrols work, how the priestesses move around et cetera. I managed to sneak out of the temple in the middle of the day, and scoot off to Yokosuka.

My only lead was his name, and the fact that his father was a merchant. I bumped into comrade in faith, a priest from the town temple. He was knowledgeable enough to point me out to the store of Hiroto's shop. In that indirect way, he also told me that Hiroto's father was either dead or terribly ill.

Arriving at the shop, I indeed saw that the sign over the shop had his name on it. He was alone inside, without a single customer inside. That was probably normal, since he was dealing in spices, and not every Taro could afford them back then, as opposed to what you girls could afford at your age.

He didn't recognize me at first, but he was happy that there was a customer. Well, he did frown that I was in my miko robes, which was a dead giveaway that I wanted _something_. He changed physically, that was obvious. From a scamp that was barely higher than I was, he was now towering over me by a head length. His facial features became more prominent, giving him a mature look, and his muscles were bulging out from everywhere.

"Um… Hello, Hiroto…" I said shyly.

"Hello, Miss? Do we know each other?"

"We last met almost five years ago…"

His face had surprise written all over it, but he quickly asked, "Keiko? Is that you?"

"Umm… Yeah…"

"My, you're so beautiful! Oh, pardon, can I even say something like that about a priestess?"

"Well… It's nice that you see a woman in me…" I replied with my cheeks burning.

"What brings you here, Keiko? Do you want some spices for the temple? I thought old man Gintaro is supplying you, is that correct?"

"Yeah, he's still supporting us, thank the _kami_ … I… I just wanted to see you… I don't know what to do anymore…"

"What happened, Keiko? You look sad."

"It's just… I learned about something and… I made a decision."

"Can I know about it?"

"Revenge," I said coldly. "But first I want to live my life a bit. There are things that the head priestess told me about, which I shouldn't think about… I wanted to try some of that out…"

"Eh? What on Earth are you talking about Keiko?"

"Have you ever kissed a woman before, Hiroto?"

"Yeeeeees… But is that relevant to…"

I didn't give him time to finish. I planted my lips on his, and things went on. So to speak.

* * *

"And I was tying my tits in a knot whether to give myself to my beloved… Sheesh…" Aya sighed. "You sure skipped a few stages there, Keiko."

"I know I know…" she muttered. "And a priestess to boot, right?"

* * *

The girls found me shortly after sunset. They frowned heavily, and I was silent the whole time, from Yokosuka, until we arrived at the temple, and through my week punishment of solitary confinement. I wasn't stripped of my rank nor privileges, but I was definitely on the short list of the head priestess.

During my punishment, I was thinking heavily, plotting my revenge on both Nobunaga and Mori. I had all it took to do it – mighty magic, a good sword, and great training. Well, I was missing one thing, and I wanted to take it by force.

Just after being released, I took a few days to make sure nothing changed. And nothing indeed changed, which was beneficial for my plan. I took my sword, strapped it on my back, and rushed to the secret room.

I approached the Sacred Flame, which was floating there as usual. My heart was racing as I moved my right hand towards it, but just before I could touch it, a voice thundered behind by back.

"Stop, Keiko!"

I turned around and saw Himiko, with Chiyo and Mamiko assisting her, standing in the doorway of the room.

"In the name of everything that's holy, stop right now!" Himiko thundered.

"Why should I stop?!" I shouted.

"The Sacred Flame is not meant for mortals! You will die if you take it into you in its entirety!"

"Is that a confirmed fact, or just hearsay?"

Himiko twitched slightly, but she adamantly responded, "It's been passed on as a truth."

"Ah, so nobody ever found it out, right? What doesn't kill you, and so on…" I turned around again, but HImiko had something up her sleeve.

"I will take you to Nobunaga," Himiko said calmly. "You can talk out your differences with both him and Ranmaru-hime."

"Oh no, head priestess, this has gone too far already…" I turn around. "Nobunaga and Mori have to pay for what they did to my mother. That is a treason that has to be hunted till the ends of the Earth, and until the bloodline of the traitors soaks the soil on which we thread!"

I jumped back, and I felt that my body was being lifted up, and a great warmth engulfed me. I could feel the raw power coursing through my flesh and bones.

"Foolish mortal…" a voice in my head said. "You think that I, a tear of Kōjin will just let you, a simple mortal control me as if I am your pet, just to enact petty revenge? No, this is not what you will receive from me. What you will receive will be divine punishment!"

My vision turned red, and pain coursed through my entire body. But I couldn't even scream. And what was the worst, my body started to move on its own.

"Keiko? Are you okay?" Himiko asked. "Is everything all right?"

My right hand moved on its own and unsheathed Hompou Shishi on its own. I could feel the familiar texture of the silk wrapping the hilt with a never before experienced sensitivity. Before the three could even react, and before I could even fathom it, my blade was stuck in the stone floor under Himiko. My head tilted up, and I saw that she slowly slid apart, cut right down from the top of her head, with terror plastered on her face.

"Himiko!" the two beside her shrieked.

My body didn't miss a beat with bothering to pull out the blade. Chiyo received an open palm thrust to the chest. I could see a bloody fountain spraying out of her back and on the wall behind her. Chiyo's body went into shock immediately and she fell down dead before she could blink.

"I will kill you!" Mamiko yelled furiously and swung her spear towards me.

My hands moved like a blur, and the spear got split in half. In another move, my left hand pulled out my sword and delivered a wide cut into Mamiko's abdomen. She spat blood and fell to her knees, and the jolt resulting from the fall separated her upper body from her legs.

I was terrified seeing that, but I couldn't do anything. My body moved on its own, methodically sweeping the temple grounds, and being stealthy as possible about it too. The Sacred Flame spared nobody. I had to witness all those surprised, angry, pleading, and sad faces I saw when my own sword cut my friends down against my will.

At one point, I could behold myself in the mirror. My eyes were glowing fiercely red, and my body was clad in some kind of white aura. But the worst was yet to come, because at that time, all of the priestesses started gathering for common prayers in the temple antechamber. I wanted to scream, to warn my comrades, but it was all to naught. The power taking control over my body had a firm grasp. The first things that hit the crowd was a half-crescent magic wave, which now I know is named the Reppuzan. Most of the priestesses were cut in half like there were standing, but some of them managed to either dodge or block it with their shields. Those who survived were murdered with cold blood so fast that I had trouble counting the individual cuts of the blade. The last two that fell were the guards in the front of the main gate.

"My job is done," the Sacred Flame said.

I was standing before the entrance to the temple, and I could see the winter sun rising. I knew that I had control over my body now, but I couldn't turn around. The snow around me was swept clear as usual, so I could hear the blood dripping off my sword. I fell on my knees and started lamenting:

"What have I done!? My whole family, cousins, fellow witches… What kind of demon possessed me to do it… Gods! Why have you forsaken me?!"

And then, I heard her voice, thundering from the skies.

"It was not the gods that have forsaken you; it was your thirst of power that brought doom upon your loved ones."

"But… how… why…"

"In your quest for improving your magical power, you temporarily overloaded your body with a power you could not possibly control, and that you were warned about – the Sacred Fire – Seika." The voice explained. "Instead of harnessing its power, your mind and body went berserk, the results of which was this massacre. That power still dwells in your body however, and I sense that you are pregnant after you have committed the sin of adultery with a man from outside the shrine. Normally I would smite you were you stand, but in this case however I shall make an exception. From this day forward, your family name will be erased from the annals of history, and from the minds of the whole human race, you are now Keiko Akayama, so the future generations will know of your crime of staining this mountainside retreat with the blood of the innocent. I shall also seal your magic power for this and the future generations, until a worthy heir will be found, and the sign of it shall be this mark under your wrist."

My left wrist started burning as if it was prod with a red-hot iron bar. I could see some mark unknown to me forming there out of nothing.

"Go, foolish mortal. You and your descendants will pay for your sin for all eternity. You will always be alone, but somehow you always will find yourself pregnant, and able to raise a child, who will have a child and so forth. This punishment will go on no matter the circumstances."

I could hear a rumble behind me, but I still was unable to look back.

"This temple will now be sealed until it is ready to see one of your descendants, and your sword inside of it. I banish you from this place, Keiko Akayama."

* * *

"Wow, Ami really got pissed off," Aya said.

"Indeed," Keiko sighed. "After that, I went to Yokosuka. Hiroto didn't recognize me, and he cast me out of his shop like some beggar. I decided to go to Kyoto, and to enter another shrine. I was took in, but I was shunned all the time. The worst thing was that after I gave birth to Mayuri, I felt so depressed that I took my life…"

"Postpartum depression," Aya said.

"What?" Nami and Keiko asked in sync.

"Also called postnatal depression. It's a recognized psychological affliction, but you really pulled the shortest straw…"

"I had something to do about that," Amaterasu's voice sounded out of the air suddenly and she appeared amongst them. "Now I'm kind of sorry for all of that, but you did deserve to be punished. For all the lives you have took, maybe the 60th generation after you could live normally. And before you even throw the "but it wasn't her fault" shtick, I only reply – Keiko was warned."

"I know…" Keiko said quietly.

"You're lucky that Toshiro did his job," Amaterasu smiled and patted Keiko on the head suddenly. "Aya, let's talk later, okay? I know you want to talk to other people."

"Okay, I'll do just that, you don't have to repeat yourself."

'Oh, look, I think we'll have guests soon," Nami said and pointed out at a peculiar quartet coming their way.

"Nobunaga, Mori, Himiko, and Mom…" Keiko started tearing up. "At least in the afterlife we can bury the hatchet…"

"We'll be going, Nami," Aya winked and pulled the sleeve of her friend.

"Ah, I understand," Nami smiled. "Where too now?"

"Let's find my _real_ great-grandfather."

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	4. Chapter 4 – Love and shenanigans

Chapter 4 – Love and shenanigans

* * *

Aya and Nami were running around, aimlessly to a bystander, but they knew their way around. At least one of them did.

"Ayaaayaaaa…" the tall Fusojin moaned. "Where are we going?"

"A bit indirectly, but I already told you where I want to go. I'm just taking a route on which we won't meet too much people."

"Ah, straight to the target, huh?"

"Yup," Aya smiled and they continued running around.

Only a minute later, they Aya finally spotted the one that she was looking for. A young man with a moustache was sitting under a pine tree, being spoon-fed by a stunning black-haired beauty.

"Woooow…" Nami gasped. "Your great-grandparents are beautiful… Just as you, heehee…"

"Come on, Nami…" Aya blushed. "I saw the photos of your great-grandparents, they also look nice, heheh…"

"Hey you two, stop giggling alone and join us!" Lucas shouted all of a sudden, startling the two girls.

They looked at each other abashed and ran to Aya's ancestors.

"Uh, good morning…" Aya said shyly. "I'm…"

"You're Aya, our great-granddaughter," Akiko said with a smile. "Despite what you think, news gets around here quickly. And hello, Nami."

"Mornin', Akiko-san, Lucas," Nami bowed her head slightly.

"Hey, you're already acquainted with them!" Aya protested. "Unfair!"

"I had a head start into the afterlife," Nami giggled.

"Damn, it seems your genes have made it through, my love," Lucas said, looking at his wife. "Again."

"Ohohoho…" Akiko chuckled. "Yes, my granddaughter not only shares my name but my transcendent beauty, and my great granddaughter is just as beautiful! Ahhh…" she sighed. "It's nice to finally see you, Aya."

"Likewise, Grandma," Aya smiled. "Oh, I have a favor to ask…"

"Not too fast, are we?" Lucas asked. "You know, we just met."

"Oh can it, hubby," Akiko poked his side. "Please, Aya, what can I do for you?"

"Hmmm… Since the both of you are here together, I would like to hear your stories."

"Did our good-for-nothing son skimp on the details?" Lucas asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no, no… Grandpa told me everything about you two, just as he was told, and what he remembered himself. The least I know about you, great-grandpa, since Grandpa is in the dark himself on quite a few accounts…"

"Well then, it can't be helped I guess…" he sighed. "I'll start, okay?"

"Sure," Akiko said.

"As you may know, I was born in a rather poor family, in the village of Klausdorf in the eastern part of Karlsland, now the uh… What was it again?"

"West Pomerania, the European Republic of Lehistan," Akiko said.

"Ah, thanks… Life wasn't exactly stroking me on the head, but my parents focused on my development. I never skipped school, because father would hit me if I even went truant on one lesson. I was an investment, so to speak. Of course, back then, I didn't know of my bloodline, because it could have been troublesome, I guess. For middle school, I had to go to the nearby town of Karlskrone. I managed to find a room quickly, a shabby shithole at an old hags house. Damn, I almost felt like Raskolnikov, if not for the fact that I had three roommates."

"And I thought that an army barrack was bad enough…" Nami muttered.

"Oh believe me, four men in a ten-square-meter room in times where you bathed less than once a week? The apocalypse… Anyway, besides attending to school, I was working part-time in an antique bookshop. Thing was that despite his good heart, he could only give me enough for me to survive, since business wasn't exactly going peachy."

"Did it influence your scientific career?" Aya asked.

"In fact, yes, it did," Lucas said with a smile. "One perk of working there was the fact that I had free access to all the books. Since the owner said that anything older than ten years is worthy of him selling it, the selection wasn't all that bad. Physics sparked my interest in middle school, so I dabbled in the books related to the topic. The old man was always smiling at me when I picked up another tome of knowledge, heheh… And so, my days at Karlskrone came to an end after a few years. I graduated as an honor student with top grades, which earned me tuition for a university of my choice. My parents were so damn proud of me that we were drinking for a whole day, hahaha!"

"Woooow… Nice!" Nami cheered.

"Right? I decided not to run off too far away, so I picked the closest possible city – Posnania. And that was where I met him…"

 **Posnania University**

 **Posnania, Karlsland**

 **1st September, 1908**

The young Lucas went out of the aula, after the inauguration of the academic year, Gaudeamus and pompous speeches included.

"What a Gaudeamus that was…" he muttered under his nose, while moving forward with his hands in his pockets and whilst looking at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he bumped into something, and almost lost his footing. He saw that somebody lied before him. A young man dressed in an expensive suit, was there on the floor, looking confused at Lucas.

"My first day and I already bump into a professor…" he sighed. "Come on, sir, I'll help you up."

"Ah, please, I'm a fellow student," the youngster said with a smile and stood up on his own. "Frederick," he moved his hand forward.

"Lucas," he replied and gave him a firm handshake. "Sorry for bumping into you, but this is… well, all this is so new to me…"

"It's also new to me, since I'm a freshman, but I keep my head level," Frederick snickered. "Since we're free now, how about frequenting a bierhalle?"

"Only if you're paying, because…" Lucas sighed. "…the only money I have is the tuition I'm getting paid, and some spare change…"

"Don't worry, look at me," Frederick pointed to himself. "Do I look poor?"

"You look like a million Reichsmarken!" Lucas laughed.

* * *

"This was the beginning of our friendship…" Lucas said with a melancholical voice. "Only the next day I learned that he was the young prince, but we were already such buds that it didn't matter. Bah, Fritz was such a damn bro that he supported me financially during the whole course of my college education, just because I was such a good guy, heheh…"

"You sure struck a gold mine, Great Grandpa," Aya smiled. "What about after college?"

"Well, then our ways parted…" Lucas sighed. "He went his way, and I… well, I was offered a job at my alma mater as a teacher, since I excelled at my subjects. After a quick pedagogical training, mind you, those were different times, I began teaching, which was until 1914."

"The First Neuroi War broke out, right?" Nami asked.

"What a bright child," Akiko giggled.

"Heh, indeed, it was that event that changed my life a bit. I was immediately drafted and assigned to a team of scientists that were developing Strikers for the army. One of my successes of that time was working on the Albatros , the first Striker that Manfriede von Richthofen flew."

"The Red Baroness?!" Aya asked amazed. "Woah! You knew her?!"

"The who now?" Nami asked clueless.

"Nami, that's the greatest witch of the First Neuroi War!" Aya explained with passion. "A noble witch a fiery spirit that raked in so many kills that then it was viewed almost as a miracle!"

"A fan, huh?" Akiko whispered to Lucas.

"Seems like it…" he whispered back with a smile not leaving his face. "Aya, I indeed met Manfriede. Bah, I was there when she crashed for the first time, and I fine-tuned her Striker. She seemed to take liking in me, since me and my team were somehow making Strikers that suited her perfectly. She was also very vocal about every shortcoming, which we tried to fix."

"Woooow, so cool!" Aya squealed from joy.

"She was a bit hissy at times, but whatever, the war ended soon, heheh… Anyway, after the war, I didn't find myself on the unemployed list, oh no! Despite the war being won, the army still needed me and my men. Unfortunately, because of the war expenditures, the budget of our research facility was rather meager, so the development was rather slow, since prototypes cost money. But in 1926, I met a certain young lady…" Lucas looked at Akiko.

"Well I wonder who that was?" she giggled. "1926 was a rather… fruitful year for me."

"Oh, tell us!" Nami said. "Tell us!"

"Okay, dear cousin, okay…" Akiko smiled.

 **Yokosuka Community Park**

 **July 7** **th** **, 1926**

A beautiful woman in her mid-20's was moving along the festively decorated park in Yokosuka during the evening. She was clad in a simple yukata, and carrying a paper fan in her hand, shielding her face from the manly part of the population. He long dark hair were dangling along loosely on her back as she moved forward nonchalantly.

 _It's nice to finally have a break from work, and it's Tanabata! But tomorrow it's back to the sewing workshop… I might put on some air though, ha!_

As she casually walked further, she saw a young man with a moustache, dressed in a brown suit, with a matching traveling suitcase and a black fedora on his head, walking straight towards her.

 _Gaijin? I wonder what he wants?_

The man indeed approached her, and asked, "Excuse me, ma'am, I would like some directions, if that's possible?"

 _How polite… Well, he overestimated my status right now but… I feel like I can help him._

She folded the fan, revealing her face, which made the man raise an eyebrow barely visibly.

"Of course you can get some directions, I think I can help you, mister…"

"Edelweiss. Lucas Edelweiss," he introduced himself, topping his fedora. "Can you please guide me to the research institute here? They didn't send a guide, and I somehow got lost myself, despite having written guidance."

"Research institute? I think there's only one here so… Ummm… My, the way is rather complicated, so…"

 _Get yourself together, Akiko, he's just a foreigner wanting directions!_

"I'll lead you there myself," Akiko said. "But you'll have to excuse me, my sandals aren't meant for running."

"Oh thank you!" he cheered. "I was told to arrive till tomorrow, so I think I have some time to spend with such a beautiful lady."

 _Oh my… What a flatterer… And he looks somewhere around my age, as far as I can tell… And there's a lot of people everywhere, so I think I don't have to be afraid of an assault… Hmmm…_

"I will be happy to help you, Edelweiss-san," Akiko smiled and turned around. "Please, follow me."

Lucas made a huge leap and stood by her side, saying, "Watching your back would be a waste, madam."

Akiko giggled and said, "Well, if you insist…"

Just a minute of silent walking later, Lucas asked, "So, Miss, what is with all the decorations around here? Is there a holiday currently being celebrated?"

"It's the seventh day of the seventh month, Edelweiss-san, thus, it's time for Tanabata."

"Never heard of it to be honest… Just like your name," he snickered with a cheeky smile.

"Oh, pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Akiko Akayama, your guide for this moment," Akiko said with a smile.

"Akiko…" Lucas pondered visibly. "The name has a nice ring to it. What do you do for a living?"

 _If this isn't outright flirting, then I'm the Empress of Fuso… But I suppose a foreigner can have a bit of a period for settling in…_

"I make clothes for a living."

"Oh, so you're a fashion designer?" he asked with interest.

"Hahaha, no!" Akiko laughed honestly. "I'm just a simple needlewoman, doing what I'm told. But I did make this yukata I'm wearing."

"It suits you," he smiled.

 _No honorifics already? Maybe it's customary in the West? Or is it even more flirting?_

"What do you do then?" Akiko tried his _approach_.

"Oh, I'm a scientist, a Striker engineer and designer to be precise."

"Strikers? Then you definitely will work with Miyafuji-san."

"Who's that?" Lucas asked.

"He's our local pride," Akiko smiled. "He's a genius in your field, so you'll most definitely be under his care."

"I see…" Lucas scratched his head.

"Oh, that's his wife, Sayaka-san!" Akiko suddenly pointed a young woman with brown hair, about the same age as she was. "Sayaka-san, _konnichiwa_!"

The woman called Sayaka casually walked up to them and said, " _Konnichiwa_ , Akiko-san, how are you today?"

"Fine, thank you, that twisted ankle healed like on a dog thanks to you!"

"And who is this gentleman?" Sayaka asked. "Maybe you finally found a suitor?"

"Saaaayaakaaaa!" Akiko shouted with a red face. "He's a scientist, and I'm guiding him to Ichiro-san's workplace!"

Sayaka giggled and said, "Ah, is that so? Then have fun, dear scientist-san, and please take care of my husband!"

"Will do, ma'am," Lucas saluted with two fingers flippantly, and Sayaka left them.

"Sayaka Miyafuji-san, the lovely wedded wife of Ichiro-san…" Akiko sighed. "I visit her clinic sometime, and when we meet, she always teases me about my lack of a husband, or even a lo… Wait, why am I even telling you this?!"

"Dunno, maybe you're just an honest woman?" Lucas shrugged. "So she's a doctor?"

"Y-Yes… Both a conventional doctor and a healing magic user."

"Convenient…"

"Ah, snap, let's go, Lucas-san!" Akiko grabbed his hand, but she quickly released it, and started bowing, apologizing at the same time. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me!"

"I don't know, that was rather fun," Lucas grinned. "Come on, Miss Akiko, lead me to my destination, I don't want to foil your plans any longer."

'Ah, okay, right!"

During the fifteen minute trip to the research facility, Akiko was mulling over what happened in her head, while answering some general questions to Lucas. Finally, they wound up before a massive building with a soldier guarding it.

"This is the place, Lucas-san," Akiko said. "Have a good day."

"Thank you for allotting some time for me, Miss Akiko. If I could repay you somehow…"

"Oh please, you can always visit me in my home on a daaaaawaaaah! Why am I telling you this?!" she panicked again.

"I really don't know," he snickered. "Tell me at least your workplace, that's more neutral ground than your home, right?"

"Ask about the Kumamori Sewing Company…" Akiko mumbled. "I bet half of the people here will tell you where to go even if drunk…"

"Expect a visit from me then!" Lucas laughed. "Bye!"

"Bye…" Akiko waved her hand with a faint smile, watching as Lucas went to the guard at the gate.

 _Is this… love?_

* * *

"That's how we first met," Akiko said. "A bit romantic, a bit hasty, with a dash of stupid."

"I didn't know that you knew my great grandparents back then already…" Aya pondered.

"Who cares, Ayaya?! That was so romantic!" Nami squealed.

"Heh, indeed, it was…" Aya smiled warmly. "How did it go from then on?"

"You won't guess…" Lucas smirked.

"Then I won't," Aya shrugged.

"Oh you little rebel you," Lucas patted her on the head. "Akiko actually visited me on the next occasion! There was some hubbub with the guard, so I met her outside the facility."

"It went a bit smoother, since I hammered into my skull that I actually might be in love," Akiko giggled. "I invited this klutz on a real date… in a ramen shop…" she sighed.

"My first ramen, and already with such a fine woman!" Lucas laughed vividly. "It went really smooth from that point."

"Lucas and I did it soon…" Akiko mumbled with flaming cheeks. "That's how Toshiro was _made_ …"

"Under the starry august sky…" Lucas sighed, receiving as smack in the back of his head. "Okay, I understand… Well anyway, I took responsibility, but since my parents were far away, and Akiko could only visit hers on the cemetery, the _formalities_ were rather simplified. I obtained permission to live with my dear Akiko in her apartment, and we lived happily… well, until I had to go…"

"Thankfully, it was already after Toshiro was born, so he could at least see him for some time… Lucas left me a nice stack of money he has been saving, and he was sent back to Karlsland…"

"Almost a tragic love story…" Nami sighed. "But almost makes a great difference, heheh…"

"Right?" Lucas asked. "Skipping a bit in time, I was developing Strikers for my glorious Karlsland, and in 1936, was sent to Britannia where I met who?" he looked at Aya.

"Ummm… Wait… Ah, I know! It was Mio and great grandfather!"

"Bingo, full marks!" Lucas laughed. "Yeah, I met the two… Ichiro was still the good old hairy perv he was, and Mio… Did she tell you how she was back then?"

"Yes," both the girls nodded.

"Mio got in the mood at one reunion, and told us _young'un's_ her life's story," Aya said. "The whole thing, including the… ehem… adventures with Grandpa…"

"How she changed…" Lucas sighed. "Well, now you know about the two of us?"

"Yup!" Nami cheered. "Thank you for the story!"

"Yes, really!" Aya added.

"It was fun to talk to you," Akiko smiled. "Have a nice day, my little goddesses,"

"Sure is weird that grandpa turned us all into gods, right?" Aya asked.

"I didn't ask for it, but I rest easy that I'm… hmmm… how to say it… independent from the old gods," Lucas pondered. "Right, _Mein Liebchen_?" he looked at Akiko.

"Of course, _anata_ ," she looked at him lustfully and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Eh, we'll be going," Aya said to Nami quietly.

"Where to?"

"I think we should talk a bit to Grandpa…"

"Ah… Kay, going!"

The two ran girls ran off as Lucas and Akiko decided to elevate their kissing into something more intimate.

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	5. Chapter 5 – The Ersatz Parents

Chapter 5 – The Ersatz Parents

* * *

A serene scene was taking place at a riverbank in Amaterasu's realm. Two burly boys, one with very dark brown short hair and one with slightly longish black, both clad only in short cargo pants were fishing with simple bamboo rods. At the same time, a girl with long black hair and a promiscuous figure, underlined by the scant bikini she wore was floating in the water on her back, holding a watermelon between her calves.

"Hey, Sis, don't stay in the water too long or you'll get wrinkly!" one of the boys shouted with a rebellious smirk plastered to his face.

"Dead and still stupid…" the girls sighed silently to herself. "You won't catch a fish in a billion years, you lummox!" she shouted.

"Still feisty as ever, ain't she, Bro?" the boy in question asked the one sitting next to him.

"And you're still as a joker as you were your whole damn mortal life," he shrugged. "Even death doesn't change people like you."

"Right back at ya," he smirked. "Still the most levelheaded of all of us!"

"At this moment, the only one level is me," the girl said loud enough for them to hear.

All three of them snickered, and at the same time, a voice said to them, "Hey, snots, how's life?"

The girl lost her balance and dunked underwater, but the two fishing turned around immediately without missing a beat.

"Hey, Padre!" the black haired boy cheered. "Oh, Mom's also here!"

"Hi, Mom," the brown haired boy said.

After a second, the girl after a few coughs, added, "Hey, Mom and Dad, nice to see you!"

"What are you up to, my dear mischief makers?" the man that appeared asked.

"Hopefully not trying too hard with finding entertainment, right?" his companion asked.

"Of course not, Mom…" the brown haired boy replied innocently.

"Yeah, surprisingly my flippant brother has a good day today," the black haired boy said.

The girl came near them, carrying the icy cool watermelon with her.

"Anybody want my melon?" she asked, but she quickly regretted that specific choice of words.

"I'll take two," the man said smirking.

"You have mine, you savage…" his companion muttered. "That's your daughter, even if you're dead and a god, Toshiro…" she sighed.

"Yeah, I kinda forget myself around such a beautiful daughter, heh…" he scratched his head. "Come on, Akiko; don't look at me like that…"

"Always a perv, Dad…" she sighed. "Curse my genetics to give you such a tease…"

"Right?" the brown haired boy asked. "Good that Andrew and I are men, we have less worries, and look like Padre here!" he laughed.

"Akiko took after her namesake and my mother almost perfectly," Toshiro nodded his head. "Right, Yoshika?"

"You forgot to add that Akiko II has bigger boobs than your mother," Yoshika giggled. "Oh the wonders of genetics… Or did you have something to do with that, hmmmm?"

"Absolutely not, who do I think I am to dabble in the DNA of my unborn children?"

"Oh right, Dad, you're supposedly some kind of super-god right now?" Andrew asked.

"Well… Actually…" Toshiro started squirming around. "Ah, I know!"

Toshiro raised his hand and a veil of monochromatic energy surrounded all of them.

"Now we have some privacy, heh…"

"Why take such measures, Dad?" Akiko asked.

"You see, the thing is that only those more powerful than Yoshika and I know that I'm just a clone…"

"A clone?" Conrad asked. "Like something from a shitty sci-fi movie?"

"No, you dingus, a clone made with godly powers," Toshiro said. "The original me wandered off with the combined original Yoshika and my dear friend, also a god, on a journey. He didn't tell me the details, but right now, we're here so none of the ones we love miss us. We're identical on a genetic and psychological level, having the same memories, so you don't need to fear us or anything."

"I see…" Akiko pondered. "Hey, does that mean you're more powerful than us or the Old Gods?"

"I'm slightly more powerful than Ami, who is the Empress of Gods as you know, and I have a special trait, namely total impunity from the Old Gods' influence. Not that I need all of that right now, but who knows?"

"Letting the things flow their way but keeping tabs, huh?" Andrew asked amused. "That's so like you, Dad."

"I'll let Ami govern the universe, but I'll keep a watchful eye on her," Toshiro winked. "So, anyway, since we've bumped into each other, what should we do?"

"Uuuuh…" Akiko pondered. "We could just hang out near the water, it's relaxing."

"Yeah, come on, Padre, let's do some fishing!" Conrad took Toshiro's hand.

"What do you think, Yoshika?"

Before he noticed, Yoshika was already clad in the same bikini that Akiko was wearing.

"Come on, Sweetie; let's have some quality mother-daughter time!" Yoshika cheered and ran off with Akiko.

Toshiro smiled and said, "This afterlife is a paradise for us…"

He changed his clothes to match his sons and the three of them went to the riverbank.

* * *

Minutes later, after a prolonged period of exchanging dirty laughs while looking at the two girls swimming further upstream, Andrew asked, "Dad, you know, once you told us that no problem in our lives would be greater than the loss of a loved one, right?"

"Mmmm…" Toshiro pondered a few seconds. "Yeah, it was when the two of you dinguses "accidentally" popped a tire of our neighbor's car and you were so scared about what both he and us, your parents, will say that the both of you ran away."

"Right…" Conrad mumbled.

"Yes, that," Andrew nodded. "Tell us, Dad, what happened when you lost somebody you loved?"

"I see…" Toshiro said, not interrupting his _fishing_. "I'll tell you about the one loss that changed my life first."

 **August 18, 1939**

 **Yokosuka**

As you should know from anime, a life of a Fusojin boy revolves around school. Don't give me those grins of yours, that's almost entirely true. So anyway, on that day, I had animal pen duty during the summer break. The temperature was high and the animal pens had barely enough shade, so I worked diligently on delivering them water first and foremost, and then food. I finished around five PM, and I went home.

"Ah, Toshiro-kun, finished with our critters?" the old janitor Taro asked. "Sure is hot today, right? The poor things must be suffering…"

"I did what I could, Sumigaya-san. Please excuse me, I'll be going home now," I replied.

"Yes, yes, have a nice day. Eat a good dinner, and take a nice bath."

I bowed and turned around, walking outside of the school gate. The sun's intensity turned down a notch compared to when I began working with the animals, and the way to my home had enough shade for me not to sweat. The way was really short, since our apartment was only three blocks away, so I took my time.

When I finally turned around at home, I traditionally yelled, "Mom, I'm home!"

This time however, which was rare, I didn't receive a reply. I started thinking intensively, jumping to the conclusion that Mom was out for shopping. However, I quickly noticed a pair of boots unknown to me when I was pulling mine off. And just a few seconds later, a man in a military uniform came out from the main room. He looked at me from top to bottom and said, "Kid, go to your mother, I think she needs you now more than ever."

I didn't think too long as I ran into the main room. My dear mother was sitting at the table sobbing loudly, with her face buried in her arms lying on the table. I never saw her in such a state, so I was kind of hesitant to approach her. But… She was my mother after all, so I crept slowly to her side.

"Uh… Mom?" I asked quietly.

She twitched visibly, and raised her head, revealing a face full of sorrow, with her eyes already red from all the tears. What little make-up she wore, "to accent her natural beauty," was dripping down her cheek.

After taking a deep breath, she said, "Toshiro… I think you're old and smart enough to have your reading comprehension skill at a level well above that needed to understand this…"

* * *

"She really said it that way?" Conrad asked. "That was… cold, if anything else."

"Yeah, I know…" Toshiro sighed. "But Mom knew very well that I was a genius, and I knew that she wasn't the run-of-the-mill housewife either…"

* * *

Just then I noticed that she was _hiding_ a piece of paper. She gave it to me, and I started reading it, skipping the header with all the addresses and whatnot.

 **Dear Mrs. Akayama**

 **It is my deep regret that I am to confirm the words of the man that delivered this notice to you, whose sad duty was to inform you of the death of your concubine and the father of your child, Major Lucas Edelweiss.**

 **A casualty message has been delivered by radio today, August 18, 1939, in which it was reported that your concubine has perished in a tragic accident in Britannia earlier this day.**

 **I know that added distress is caused by failure to receive more information. Unfortunately, the report received did not contain any further details but you may be assured that in the event additional information is received regarding Major Edelweiss' death, it will be promptly communicated to you.**

 **I sincerely regret that this message must bring you so much sorrow into your home and my deepest sympathy is with you in your bereavement.**

I barely read the last passage, as my hand were shaking already.

"D-Dad… died?" I asked with my voice failing me, falling on my knees.

My mother came closer to me, and embraced me tightly saying, "Yes, Toshiro…"

"S-S-So I won't be able to see him? Not once?"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be…" I answered with an unexpected coldness in my voice and stood up, releasing myself from my mother.

"T-Toshiro?"

"I need some time alone, Mom…" I said and ran out of the room.

"Toshiro!" Mom yelled, but I put on my loafers almost instantaneously and shot out of my home.

I ran and ran through the streets of Yokosuka, half-blind because of the tears. I doubt this would be possible a few decades later, when cars and motorcycles became more popular. But I was too furious to even bother with anything. I may have been a smart kid, but I still was a kid after all. That was a childish fury, a bit illogical and very emotional. I was mad at Dad for dying, at Mom that she couldn't somehow arrange a meeting with all of us.

I finally stopped running after I fell flat on the ground somewhere in the outskirts of the town. Then another object of my fury came on – myself. I was piss mad that I was so weak, because I ran away from Mother at the time of her need. But when I wanted to return home, I could barely walk. And that's when I got really mad. I grabbed a boulder near me, about a quarter of my size then, and I just wanted to throw it away in a fit of rage. Of course it didn't budge. At that moment I promised myself two things – that I would protect my mother, and that I would gain the means to protect her by stopping being so weak.

I returned home running just using my willpower alone. When I opened the door, two things happened at the same time – I started falling and Mom caught me. She was waiting for me all along.

* * *

"And then?" Andrew asked.

"You know the rest, you shits," Toshiro smiled. "I started training like mad, even though our living conditions started floating down shit creek. It helped me focus on something else than my fathers death…"

"It haunted you so long, Dad?" Conrad asked suddenly.

"Kind of… My acceptance, or denial, of his fate came in phases… When I joined the army, to help our financial distress, I found something new in life. When Mio came for me - that shifted my focus on her and her ensemble of witches entirely. When I saw his grave alongside Ichiro's, I was happy I could somehow meet him… When I learned that I have an Uncle, somebody that he knew, I was proud. But when Kye enabled me to talk with Dad, I finally accepted that the man who I never met while he was alive was gone from my life, but he went out with a bang, saving at least one life, if not more indirectly..."

"Deep…" the two brothers said in sync.

"So, did I answer your question, Andrew?" Toshiro asked.

The one in question smiled and said, "Yeah, you did, Dad. Thanks."

"I wonder where Mom and Sis are though," Conrad added. "They vanished."

"Vanished to the naked eye," Toshiro smirked. "Remember you guys are gods now."

"Privacy, Dad," Conrad said.

"Riiiiiiiiight…"

 _Now that would make me a hypocrite…_

 **Meanwhile**

 **Upstream**

"Swimming against the current is more fun than I expected!" Akiko cheered as they took rest on a rock.

"Having godly powers has its merits," Yoshika giggled and conjured up two glasses of ice-cold Coke, one having a slice of lime in it. "Want some?"

"Oh, thanks, Mom! You even remember how I like mine!"

"I'm your mother!" Yoshika said proudly. "And I will dote on you into eternity!"

"Hahaha! I'm spoiled even in my afterlife!" Akiko took a sip. "If I look back at my life, I really didn't have any traumatic experiences in my life… Apart from your funeral, but you prepared us all for it and I was already an old granny by that time…"

"From the perspective of your whole life, things do look differently than when they occurred, Sweetie. When my Dad supposedly died, it was like the end of the world for me, but in perspective? That only gave me a drive to fight!"

"Grandpa, huh? That turned out nicely in the end…"

"Right? But if you want to know, I can tell you how it looked to me at the time."

"Oh… Well… I never heard the story with all the details…"

"Listen up then…"

 **August 18, 1939**

 **Yokosuka**

As you may remember, actually you should, it's just a matter of combining facts, that day was my tenth birthday. It started out like a perfectly normal day, and to be honest, I forgot about the fact I had my birthday that specific day. Thankfully, my mother was always so nice to correct my moments of _airheadedness_ when she was around, so the first thing I heard from her after she woke me up instead of the usually, "Good morning, Yoshika," was "Happy birthday, Sweetie."

To say I was overjoyed would be accurate, heheh… But my mind kind of worked it's own way, and I had to ask, "Mommy, is Daddy coming to see me today?"

I could see the guilt in her eyes, but Mom just replied, "You never know, Sweetie. Maybe he'll make a surprise visit?"

That was enough for me at the time. I got a present from Mom, a stethoscope I bugged her about for a few months. It's really a unique feeling to hear the heart of another person, and especially your own… But anyway, the day went on in a _birthday tempo_. Some of the girls from school even paid me a visit, with my dear cousin Michan among them, heehee… Once it was a bit late in the afternoon, Mom proposed I go buy myself some shaved ice with extra flavor.

"But what if Daddy comes?" I asked.

"I will shout so loud you'll hear!" Mom replied loudly. "Come on, go. It's a birthday treat."

"Yay, thanks!" I hugged her and ran out.

I strolled down to the city, and frequented the nearest shop that sold shaved ice. Of course I took the biggest portion, and I ate while I was going back home, since I thought Dad might come around, brain freeze included.

After a few minutes, I crossed my ways with a man in a military uniform. Mom always told me to be polite to soldiers, so I said, "Good morning," and went my way. At least in theory.

"Oh, are you perhaps the young Miyafuji?" he asked all of a sudden.

"Ummm… Yes?"

"That's kind of… good…" he said shyly. "I'm on my way to your mother's clinic."

"Oh, then we're going to the same place!" I cheered momentarily. "Can I follow you?"

"Yes, please," he smiled faintly.

He was walking fast, a bit too fast for my liking, but I was cooling myself down with the ice, so it wasn't all that tiresome.

"Can I come in?" he asked as we arrived.

"Please," I said with a smile.

I thought that maybe he had some kind of injury hidden under his shirt, or something more internal, but once he came in, some ominous feeling griped me tightly around the chest.

"You're back, Yoshika?" Mom asked as she peeked out of the dinning-slash-living room. "Oh? A guest from the military?"

"Uh, hello ma'am…" the soldier bowed slightly. "I'm here for official business…"

"Official business…" Mom squinted here eyes. "Do you want to sit down, have a tea, anything?"

The soldier reached for his breast pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"It's for you ma'am…" he said quietly.

That's the first time in my life that I saw my Mom actually terrified. She must have known how it works, since she took the envelope with shaking hands, and ripped it apart without trying to open it with finesse. Once she got the piece of paper that was inside in her hands, I saw that her eyes were darting like mad all over it.

And finally, after a few seconds, she fell forward.

"Mommy!" I shouted, but the soldier reacted fast enough to catch her. "Mommy, what's happening?!"

"Ichiro…" her eyes started welling up with tears. "Your father… He won't be coming back…"

"W-What do you mean, Mommy?"

"It means that he's dead…" I heard Grandma's voice so suddenly that I jumped up.

She stood at Mom's side with the letter in her hand, massaging her forehead with her hand.

"D-Dead?" I asked, feeling as my own eyes started watering up.

"I'm so sorry, Yoshika…" Mom said and stretched her hand out to me.

I latched myself onto her, and wailed for the next hour until I fainted from exhaustion.

* * *

"It's good that it happened during the summer vacation… I could cry my eyes for the whole weekend, refusing to even meet Micchan… Mom was in a similar state, while Grandma looked potentially unfazed, so she took over the clinic for the time, until Mom was able to focus herself, which happened around four days after the news broke. I in turn was apathetic, lifeless and bleak until a new school term started. From there on, I had to put up a façade for my fellow schoolgirls. In school I was the usual Yoshika, but at home I immediately slumped down into a stupor. Mom had to help me with my homework more than usual, or I would have problems with my grades, who, heh… well, I was very average until something happened. It took me a year to recover more or less from the trauma of my father dying. On his first death anniversary, I swore to myself to never take part in the war, no matter what happened. I decided to pursue an academic career in medicine, and that was final. Well, and in 1944 that went down the gutter," Yoshika smiled after the last sentence.

"Dad and Mio happened, huh?" Akiko asked.

"Yeah… The two turned my life upside down, with Toshiro almost grabbing me by the feet and shaking me, heheh…"

"From what I remember, Dad was presumed dead for an extended period of time, right?"

"Yes, that was the case. But maybe I'll tell you about it some other time, huh? Two sad stories would be too much, even for goddesses," Yoshika giggled.

"Kay, Mom," Akiko smiled warmly. "Can I have a refill?"

"Do it on your own, Sugarpuff, you're a grown woman," Yoshika snickered.

"Indeed," she snickered too and her glass refilled instantaneously.

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	6. Chapter 6 – Toshiro the School Kid

Chapter 6 – Toshiro the School Kid

* * *

"We're done, I think," Akiko said. "Unless you want to take a stroll, Mom."

"I do want to take a stroll but… I'll make it extravagant," she winked. "How far have you gone in honing your new abilities, Akiko?"

"Weeeeeeeeellllll…" Akiko mused. "I did train a bit since I was "made" a goddess… What do you have in mind, Mom?"

"Ehhhh…" Yoshika sighed. "It feels weird that I, a clone, am already treated like I'm the original…"

"Oh come on…" Akiko embraced her with one hand. "If the original you has merged with another entity, then you are the Yoshika that has to fill the void that was left after it. Since you're indistinguishable from the original, you're Mom, and that's that! I think my two knucklehead brothers think the same."

Yoshika hugged her back tightly and whispered, "Thank you… It means a lot to me…"

"Don't think of yourself as somebody, or _something_ , inferior…"

"I won't…"

"Then to keep your mind off this topic, how about that walk?"

"Ah, yes!" Yoshika cheered. "Look!"

Yoshika separated herself from Akiko and she jumped onto the surface of the water, not manifesting any magic visibly.

"Oooooh, are you a ninja?" Akiko snickered. "I think I can pull that off…"

With a face radiating with conviction, Akiko followed Yoshika in her footsteps, and she proudly stood at her side.

"As expected from my daughter," Yoshika smiled. "Let's go back to our family, okay?"

"Yup!"

* * *

"Dude, are there even any fish here?" Conrad asked, looking at his brother.

"None as far as I can sense, why do you ask?"

"No fish? Then why the hell are we even sitting here?!"

"To relax, right, Dad?"

"Fishing without catching fish is a timeless tradition," he snickered. "Escaping from all your troubles just to gawk at the water for the whole day – that's the point of it."

"Dad through and through," Andrew smiled. "You're really the same."

"If I'm supposed to be a stand it for the sake of the people my original self loves, then I can't half-ass my job, right? It's not school that I can get F's for the whole term straight and then shrug it all off with perfectly written exams, right?"

"Prolly not," Conrad grinned. "And hey, you're just as good as the real deal, it's okay, right, Bro?"

"Indeed, Brother. I never saw Dad in his "original" form, so this iteration is closer to the man that brought me up."

"Oh stop guys…" Toshiro mumbled. "I'm gonna cry…"

"Instead of crying, you could tell me a story," Akiko's voice rang near them suddenly, and the three saw her and Yoshika coming to them.

"Water walking… How cliché…" Toshiro sighed. "Okay, I have a story for you all!"

Akiko suddenly found herself near Toshiro, sitting on the ground impatiently.

"Now that's nice," he snickered. "Okay, here's a story about the daily life of a middle school boy."

* * *

As you may know, and if I forgot to tell you, I will remind you – my school life wasn't exactly a path paved with gold. Sure, my smarts were prevalent at young age, but that was a double-edged sword. The teachers liked me because they had no problems with regarding my grades, but I was a natural magnet for trouble.

The thing is that my mixed racial descent was rather ill viewed by the kids. In a homogenous and traditional society like the one in Fuso, I was worse than _just_ a foreigner was. As you can see, only my hair is somewhat Fusojin-like, the rest – not so much. But I have to tell you that since kindergarten the kids were first intrigued with me, but then, they slowly started drifting away from me. Now I know how it really is thanks to my godhood – it was a mixture of both their parents talking shit about me, and another thing, namely my sharp wits.

Aya, as you know, had a similar problem – she was simply too good for the public education system. However, I was a bit _dumber_ in comparison, and I was a guy, so that made things a bit less frustrating, since the girls would just run away if I looked at them crookedly. The guys were a bit harder to convince, since wasn't as lean as I am now back in my childhood. I wasn't fat, or even chubby, more like in the middle of the weight scale. But yeah, I looked way different than the kids in Yokosuka.

My whole school life was a lonesome road. The only time I was approached by somebody of my _colleagues_ , was only when they wanted to mock me or have a fight. I heard it all; you have your own imagination, so I won't be enumerating everything. As for the fights… Hmmm… You lose some, you win some, you draw some because of interventions. But after my father _died_ and I pulled myself together, the balance of power slowly tipped in my favor. It was middle school, so in first class I could only compete with my year, but in second class, I progressed enough to be respected by some of the third years. But mind you, that respect was just for my fighting skills, not for _me_ as a whole. In my third year, I was a gray eminence. The teachers knew of my reputation, but my grades were unwavering, as was my respect towards the teaching staff, so I was on a metaphorical teeter-totter all the time. My Mom also knew about it, since I was perfectly honest with everything towards her. She was at a loss somehow, but I only did it in self-defense, or if the other party agreed for a spar, so she wasn't breathing down my neck. Aaaand the first circumstance was evoked one sunny day…

 **First Yokosuka Public Middle School**

 **3** **rd** **Year Graduation Ceremony**

That day, the sun shone brightly and warmly. Not one cloud marred the perfectness of the blue sky… You could say it was almost like it is here now, in Ami's realm. When the time came, we all gathered in the gym, where the graduation ceremony took place. Singing "Aogeba Totoshi" really brought a tear to my eye, since middle school was actually kinda fun, despite my weird social status. After that, we sat and Hideo Anno, the student council president form class 3-A, held a traditional speech. Usually composed, he held the speech in a manner we wouldn't think would be possible for him. It was a real surprise for everyone.

But anywho, after the diploma's were presented, with me being mentioned as the top student, at least according to test scores. Mom was invited as a guest, so when I looked at her, she was all in tears, surrounded by some of the mothers cheering her up. But I had an _appointment_ after the ceremony. I of course told Mom I had some business to tend to, but I kept her in the dark about the core of it.

I walked behind the gym, surrounded by the members of our _fight club_. When we stopped, the one that _invited_ me stepped forward. His name was Tetsuya Uchida, and he was a second grader.

"Senpai, good that you showed up," he said confidently.

"Your cryptic invitation kind of dissuaded me from showing up. What's the purpose of this peculiar meeting?"

"I'll be brief with my explanation, Senpai. You have an uninterrupted winning streak in all the fights you were challenged to since second grade, and some of us don't like that. You are graduating now, so this is the best time for us to claim the trophy of your first loss since two years."

I glanced around, and saw all of the guys grinning and smirking towards me.

"All of you at once?" I asked calmly.

"If push comes to shove, we won't hesitate. But for now, you can warm up on Hiroshi," he said as he stepped back, and a circle was formed around me. Hiroshi Kawamata, a first-year, stepped out of the human mass and stood before me.

"It's an honor to fight you, Senpai!" he shouted and bowed, preparing himself for battle.

"So a warm-up…" I sighed. "Let's get this over with!"

Hiroshi just blindly rushed forward, but I had enough time to think. I already saw what he was capable of, and I had a physical advantage over him in many ways, so I used one of them, and when he was in range, I simply kicked him straight in the solar plexus. He fell back a bit onto his back and just crawled back into the crowd.

"I got one leg warmed up, who's next?"

The guys from the first grade attacked me singlehandedly, but when they got _expended_ , the second graders teamed up in pairs. Their plan was already obvious for me – weaken me up with mooks, soften me up with second graders, and then pummel me with my classmen.

But you know, that which differentiates us from animals is the fact that we can gather, organize, and process information with our brains. I used all the info I gathered during my battles with all of them, and… well… I can't say it was a flawless victory, since my shirt was torn apart and my face got a bit dirty, but they got what they deserved, and as such, I left this school undefeated.

* * *

"Well ain't that some shit? Dad was a regular delinquent!" Conrad laughed.

"But I bet he wasn't exactly proud of that fact, right?" Mom asked.

"Kinda. It wasn't something glorious, but at least it was better than elementary," Toshiro shrugged. "Okay, now the final of my story as a delinquent."

* * *

When the last one of them fell to my knees, I said, "You should have just ganged up on me from the beginning."

"Yesh, Shenpai…" Satoru Arihyoshi, a second-year mumbled from the ground.

"Have a nice day, guys. I hope we won't have to engage in such child play if we meet in another school?"

Hiroshi managed to sit and said, "I don't know, Senpai… I might want to have a rematch."

"You're free to wish so," I grinned and turned around. "Find me when you think you're ready, but don't take too long or you won't live long enough to close the gap, hahaha!"

"Yeah, whatever now. Bye, Senpai!"

I vaulted the fence of the school and walked towards home, creeping around since I didn't want to be the talk of all the hags around because of how I looked at the moment. When I opened the door to the apartment, Mom was already waiting for me. Once she had a good look at me, she frowned and asked, "So _this_ was your _business_? Another fight?"

"Well… It was the fight to end all fights…" I laughed shyly.

Mom just grabbed a book in hard cover that was lying around and smacked me straight on the head with it three times.

"I thought we agreed that you would stop fighting, Toshiro, didn't we?"

"Yes, Mom…"

"Regardless of the cause."

"Yes, Mom…"

"And you ripped your best shirt."

"Yes, Mom…"

"What do you have for your defense?"

"Nothing, Mom… I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Mom sighed and said, "I'm glad that you graduated, Toshiro, and I do hope that you won't pick unnecessary fights in high school, right?"

"Yes, Mom, I'll try to, but you know that our wishes aren't exactly Word of God, are they?"

"Indeed," she smiled. "Come on, change your clothes and we're going for some ramen."

"Woah, thanks, Mom!"

* * *

"You sounded like a manga character, Dad…" Akiko sighed. "It really played out like that?"

"Yeah, totally," Toshiro grinned. "Even the fact that Mom smacked me with a book. As some trivia, I'll tell you that she would never hit me without a purpose. That was justified."

"You never hit us," Conrad smirked.

"Maybe he should have…" Akiko mumbled.

"Oh come on, Toshiro would never hit you," Yoshika wrapped herself around Akiko. "A wise man can make you feel more miserable with the right choice of words, heheh…"

"That's the truth revealed…" Andrew sighed. "Even though my numbskull brother was the troublemaker, I always got caught in the crossfire somehow. Dad, I commend your iron will not to slap us silly after all the mishaps we've conducted."

"Violence is never the answer," Toshiro nodded. "Even my drill instructor knew that."

"Oh, right, Dad, you never told us about your service in the IFN before you met Mio!" Akiko noted vividly.

"I held out many details of my life," Toshiro shrugged. "Some were boring, some brutal, other were… explicit, heheh… But if you really want to know…"

"Come on, Dad, we have all eternity," Akiko giggled.

"Well then…"

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	7. Chapter 7 – Toshiro the Soldier

Chapter 7 – Toshiro the Soldier

* * *

Just before Toshiro could utter a word, he saw three black haired beauties walking towards them from across the stream.

"Oh, Grandma?" Akiko asked amazed. "Wow, it really is her! Grandpa, can we go meet her?"

"You are all adults, you can do whatever you want…" Toshiro shrugged with a smile of satisfaction.

"Hey, come on you two bozos!" Akiko grabbed her two brothers and forcefully tugged them towards the two incoming guests.

"Oy vey…" Andrew sighed.

"Preaching to the choir, brutha…" Conrad muttered.

* * *

"Hey, it's Mom and my uncles!" Aya cheered, as she saw the three running towards them.

"Really?" Nami asked, and she looked first at the Akiko beside her, and at the one in the distance. "Woah… Hey, you two are almost indistinguishable!"

Akiko giggled and said, "My Granddaughter really is almost like my twin, but that's just pure genetics. But her character is more in line with Yoshika, rather than myself."

"And she has brown eyes, unlike you, Grandma," Aya smiled. "Why don't they just teleport here…"

"Feelings often fog the sane view of a situation, Aya," Akiko said calmly. "But I bet somebody else will teleport."

"I think I know who," Nami snickered.

Just half a second later, Toshiro and Yoshika appeared out of thin air before the three.

"Ding!" Akiko chuckled. "Hi, Toshiro."

"Hi, Mom. And hi Nami."

"Aw, what about me?" Aya sulked.

Yoshika embraced her tightly and said, "Hi, Aya."

"Heh," Aya said with a mellow face. "Hi, Grandma."

"Hey hey hey, not so fast with the hugs!" the younger Akiko said as she appeared out of the sudden near Aya, hugging her daughter.

"Oh, I'm going in too!" the older Akiko giggled and found some space to grab Aya.

"I'm being hugged by three generations of the Edelweiss family…" Aya sighed with a tear forming in the corner of her left eye."

"Hey, give her some time, and Anastasia should come," Toshiro cracked a cheeky smile.

"Oh come on, Grandpa, she still has a lot of time left, right?" Aya asked.

"Sure she does, more that she thinks she has."

"Hey, Niece, how's life?" Andrew asked.

"And what brought you here?" Conrad joined in.

"Heh, I'm fine, Uncle Andrew," Aya smiled. "And as for your question, Uncle Conrad, we were just strolling around aimlessly."

"No, we were bonding," Nami nodded, trying to look seriously. "And what were you doing, Toshiro?"

"Also bonding," Toshiro smirked. "I wanted to tell my kids how I became a soldier."

Toshiro saw immediately that his mother made a sour face, but she saw that, and said, "I know that I'm long dead, and that we're in our own custom made paradise, but that still is a bit of a thorn in my bum… Things could have gone different."

Before Toshiro could respond, Amaterasu appeared amongst them, and after a deep sigh she said, "I still was in "curse you to the umpteenth generation mode" back then, Akiko. I really doubt I would let it be much different… Sorry…"

"I know, I know," Akiko smiled. "But Toshiro, how about you tell the story from your side, and I'll make an addendum later, okay?"

"Sure, Mom," Toshiro said. "Okay everyone, take your seats, it might take a bit, depending on how I wrap up things."

Aya snapped her fingers, and everyone had comfortable lawn chairs standing behind them.

"Always taking the initiative," Nami giggled.

* * *

The first class of my high school education was a truly mixed bag. On one hand, the guys and gals there were a bit more tolerant towards me, the teachers however were a bit more salty. I wont go into details, but I wasn't viewed as a prodigy anymore. But there was also one more thing – Mom started behaving a bit differently since the start of the first term. She always took smaller portions than usually, and she discouraged me from arguing about that, since "I was growing" and all. I really thought that she was caring about me in a selfless way, but… well, I was spot on, since one day I returned from school and…

* * *

I was walking down the road, clad in a warm coat with his school emblem sewn onto it. The October wind blew gently, but it clearly stated its existence.

"How nice that last period got canceled, heheh…" I cheered under my nose. "I'll surprise Mom!"

I ran faster and appeared before the door of his apartment silently as a cat. Trying hard not to make a noise, I opened the door, and slipped inside, closing the door behind myself. After taking off my shoes, I continued my sneaky voyage, but I almost immediately heard silent sobbing.

I stormed the room without thinking, and saw Akiko crying her eyes out on the chabudai.

"Mom, what happened?" I asked concerned.

She twitched visibly hearing my voice, however when she raised her face wet from tears, she just started crying with doubled intensity.

"Oh Mom…" I sat beside her and hugged her.

After a few minutes, Akiko finally spoke up.

"W-Why are you here now, Toshiro?" she asked.

"Classic literature got canceled, Mom. What happened? You never cried so hard in your life…"

"It's… It's about our financial matters…"

"Oh, that's something I never poked into… What's the matter, Mom?"

"Your late father always sent us some money, and after his death, we got some kind of stipend from the Wehrmacht… But since a few months, I haven't received a payment… I was afraid to ask what's wrong, so I decided to save on food, since I didn't think about some kind of rainy day fund. B-But I'm crying because…" Akiko's lip started trembling. "I got fired today, and the rent is due tomorrow…"

"You got fired?" I asked, as if Akiko told him that people are making glass houses. "How did that happen?"

"I… I busted a sewing machine… It was a Liberian made Singer, so it was very expensive and… I damaged it beyond repair…" Akiko said and started wailing again.

* * *

The same day, I went to the sewing workshop to plead in Mom's case – nope. Mom got a similar result at our landlord, since he only postponed the rent payment by a week. And after a week, it was curtains. We had to move out, but that sly son of a bitch "gave" us a shack in the rice fields on a delayed payment. One day after we moved into it, I started looking for a job, but somehow surprisingly, nobody wanted to hire a fifteen year old, healthy, muscular teenager of my size. All except for one place – the military.

* * *

"Okay, that will be all…" the recruitment officer said after I signed my enrollment form. "Go to the quartermaster and he'll give you a uniform. Although I doubt that he'll have one handy…"

"Is the army understocked?"

"First of all, now you'll address me with "sir", is that clear?"

"Yes… sir?"

"Good. Secondly, look at you, you damn behemoth! Two uniforms for you would make three normal ones!"

"Ah, right…" Toshiro muttered.

"I seriously doubt the result of your IQ test…" the officer sighed. "But whatever now, go and at least _try_ getting a uniform, and then take a look around the base. I'm thinking about where to assign you, but I'll gladly hear your opinion."

"Thank you sir, I'll try my best!"

"Go already… Oh, and you fly that ID of yours whenever you suspect a shout is directed your way, since civilians aren't exactly welcome here. And a tip for you – if in doubt, you salute."

"Affirmative!" I saluted briskly and ran outside.

I made my way to the storage, and just as the officer predicted, a guard well into his forties halted me with a stern face saying, "Civilians are forbidden to roam the base freely. I have to ask you to leave the base."

I pulled my ID out my pocket and presented it saying, "I'm new here, sir. I'm looking for the quartermaster to give me a uniform."

The guard looked at the ID, and then at me. He smiled and said, "Welcome to the army then, son. Old Hiroshi is present; just don't piss him off on the first day."

"Yes sir!" I saluted and ran inside the warehouse.

The inside was filled to the brim with munitions, guns, food supplies, and whatever else there is needed for a military unit this big to function. As I was gawking around with an opened mouth, I heard a voice saying, "You must be the new one."

I turned to my right side and saw a soldier that should be taking care of his grandchildren, but the voice didn't match the body of an old man at all.

"Uh, yes sir, Private Akayama reporting!" I shouted and saluted.

"Yes, yes, at ease…" he replied calmly. "I was notified that a lumbering mountain of a recruit was coming, but I was thinking of somebody more… Asian… Now that I see you, I can say with hundred percent confidence that you won't get a uniform today."

"Ah, I see…" I said disappointed. "But sir, are you sure? Maybe there's one lying somewhere here?"

The man poked his temple with his right index finger, and with a condescending voice he replied, "Sonny, in my head, I have the best ledger there is. I remember every nut and bolt that's on stock in this warehouse, so please don't imply anything, understood?"

"Uhm, I didn't mean to, sir…"

"Yes, yes, you probably didn't… Stay right where you are, I will deliver you a temporary measure."

"Yes sir."

I stood there for a few good minutes, but the man that the guard called Hiroshi came back to him with a stack of items.

"Here you go," he said as he passed them on to me. "Your blanket, a cap, an armband, hygiene utensils, and cutlery. Put the cap and armband on right now, and I will place an order for a uniform later today. Don't run away anywhere, because somebody has to take your measurements."

"Yes sir!"

"Now, go to the barracks and introduce yourself to your comrades."

"Yes sir," Toshiro replied and put on the aforementioned items while going out of the warehouse.

"Much better," the guard said with a cheeky smirk. "I guess you're going to the barracks? You can see them from here, just go there," he said as he was pointing at a barrack complex.

"Yes sir, understood."

* * *

"Dad, are you gonna bore us to death with the miniscule details of your first day in the military?" Andrew moaned.

"Oh you little shit!" Toshiro shouted faux-confounded. "You really don't want to know?"

"Well… I do kinda wanna know… I hope it's worth the wind-up, huh?"

"I'll just continue…"

* * *

I finally found the barracks I was supposed to be quartered in. I opened the door and said, "Pardon for the intrusion."

I saw a multitude of double deck beds standing in two rows along the whole room. The inhabitants were present, all with an average age of twenty-something, and all of them looking at me more or less suspiciously.

"And you are?" the eldest of them, at least thirty, asked with a gruff voice.

I snapped into attention and shouted, "Private Toshiro Akayama reporting!"

"Akayama?" he asked. "I think I heard that name one of two times… Well, whatever, that's not important right now. So, you just got here?"

"Uh, yes sir, the signature on my papers is still wet, heheh…"

"You look young… How old are you?"

"Fifteen, sir..."

"Fifteen? Shouldn't you be attending school instead of being here?" somebody else asked.

"My family was impoverished, and nobody else wanted to hire me, sir…" I mumbled.

"Ah, yes, what a pity…" the eldest one sighed. "Well then, welcome to our humble abode, Toshiro. There's a free bunk far to the right, make yourself comfortable there."

"Uh, thank you, sir, I will!"

I ran to the place I was told to go and saw that the top bunk was indeed unoccupied.

"A bunkmate?" the occupant of the lower bunk, a skinny young lad with glasses asked. "Private Nisio Iwakuro," he extended his hand.

"Toshiro Akayama, also private," I shook his hand firmly. "I hope you won't mind me?"

"There's a lot more to mind than you, if I should be honest… Unless you snore like a boat engine…"

"Ah, not a problem then, heheh…"

* * *

"Okay, maybe I'll cut this short after all…" Toshiro sighed. "I surprisingly landed in a barrack with nice guys. The brass tried to find an apt occupation for me, and their first shot was gunsmith assistant. A rather well placed shot, I may say, since I did spend some time doing weapon maintenance. However, I found that being a mechanic was better for me. It coincided with the worsening of Mom's condition…" he looked at Akiko with a faint smile. "I pled my case to the brass, and I managed to negotiate that I'll be doing an 8-5 job and then return home to my sickly mother."

"Awwww…" the younger Akiko mused. "Dad's always been a sucker for ladies in need, huh, Grandma?"

"Heh… I raised him that way, Dear. It was a bit selfish, I have to admit it now, but in the end, it turned out beneficial for my dear son."

"I can't blame you for anything, Mom. You knew our situation, and every bit of help from me, even if a bit forced, was justified and needed for our survival…"

"So much family warmth it's started getting stuffy," Nami giggled. "Come on, Aya, maybe we should continue our journey?"

"What journey again?" Toshiro asked.

"Ah, we're running around, acquainting ourselves with our ancestors and whatnot, listening to stories…" Aya enumerated.

"Good job, girls," Yoshika smiled. "Fight!"

"Heheh, okay, Grandma, I will!" Aya cheered and ran away.

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	8. Chapter 8 – Shorty and Short Fused

Chapter 8 – Shorty and Short Fused

* * *

A beautiful woman with dark long hair, clad in a crimson kimono was wandering across a lush green field, shouting, "Maaaamiiii! Where are you!"

"Somewhere!" a mature female voice replied from afar.

"Stop hiding, damn it! I told you we have a _reunion_!"

"Naaaah, don't wanna! I'm lazy!"

The dark haired woman pinpointed the direction of the voice, and she simply teleported in that direction, but she projected her voice as if it was still back in her original position, "Oh come on!"

"Nope!" the hiding woman replied from almost arms reach from behind a big boulder.

The dark haired woman jumped behind the boulder, and saw a two meter high, also dark haired, woman in a miko outfit, clutching with her back towards the boulder.

"Found ya!"

"Gwah!" the one found shouted in panic. "Who are you?!"

"Keiko Katou, who else, you nitwit?!"

"But Kei has brown hair! And she hates kimonos!"

"And Mami Inagaki has only 137 centimeters!"

"One hundred thirty seven AND A FUCKING HALF, YOU GODFORSAKEN TRICKSTER!"

Two other black haired girls teleported to their position, looking a bit confused.

"Grandmaaaa? Why are you two meters high all of a sudden?" the taller of them asked.

"And who are you?" Keiko asked. "I know Aya, she's quite the celebrity here now, but you? Waaait… Wait…." she looked at the two highest girls. "Hey, are you related to Mami?"

"Kinda…" she mused.

"That's my granddaughter, you oaf…" Mami sighed, and suddenly she was at her original height.

"Kawaii…" Aya gasped. "Can I hug you?!"

"Woah, what the hell?!"

"You… You're so small that you look like a doll! I want to hug you!"

"ARE YOU IMPLYING I'M SO SMALL THAT A DIME COULD COVER ME WHOLE?!" Mami yelled and tried to rush at Aya with her fists, but Keiko just held her back with one hand.

"Sorry, Mami has a height complex…" she sighed. "Mami, show some respect, this is Toshiro's granddaughter and the second most powerful goddess in this universe."

 _"_ _Heehee, they don't know I'm actually the MOST powerful one… But Ami needs her authority more than I do,"_ Aya thought.

"Seriously?" Mami looked dumbfound at Aya. "You don't look like it…"

"Everyone tells me that," Aya giggled and extended her hand. "Aya von Edelweiss, Goddess of Celestial Order, pleased to meet you."

"Ah… Mami Inagaki, Nami's grandmother and a good friend of your grandfather," Mami extended her hand, but then Aya just swiped her off her feet and cuddled fiercely.

"Cuuuuudlyyyy!" Aya cheered.

"Waaaaah!"

"Is she always like that?" Keiko asked Nami.

"She has to find something VERY cute to be like that…" Nami smiled and forwarded her hand. "Nami Ranmaru, pleased to meet you."

"Keiko Katou, also a pleasure," Keiko shook her hand and suddenly her hair went brown and shortened itself into short-medium length.

"Oh?"

"I try to find a new look, but most of the people say that my original haircut from the SNW suits me best."

"Well, you ARE kind of cute in it, heheheh…"

"Heeeeeeeeelp!" Mami moaned in the clutches of Aya.

A new person appeared all of a sudden, clad in a uniform remembering the 1940's, yelling, "What's going on here?!"

"Whoops, the police…" Keiko said quietly and turned around, but the person grabbed her by the collar.

"Ara, Cousin Trude?" Mami asked. "Saaaaaaveeee meeeee!"

The person called Trude looked at her, than at her _assailant_ , and said, "Pfff, I heard your cry from the far edge of this realm, and what do I see? You're just dicking around with Aya! Go to hell!" she looked at Keiko. "And you're allowing this?"

"Come on, it's just horseplay…" Keiko muttered.

"Still, Mami is screaming as if she's skinned alive. Aya, just let her go…" Trude sighed.

"Okay, Cousin," Aya cheered and let Mami go.

Trude shuddered from pleasure and said, "There you go. Okay, I'm going."

"Hey, you're not coming with us to the 31st's reunion?" Keiko asked, still gripped by the collar.

"Why should I? I have literally no connection to that unit."

"Bawwww, but Couusin…" Mami sulked. "You have me."

"Ah pshaw…" Trude's cheeks gone red. "That's not enough…"

"Well, there's always Marseille…" Keiko grinned mischievously.

"Shut up!" Trude yelled.

"Oh, Cousin Trude! Tell us a story about Hanna Marseille!" Aya waved her hand.

"W-Why should I?!"

"Because…" Aya made puppy eyes. "You're my dear cousin…"

 ** _"_** ** _Nami, help me on this one!"_** Aya asked telepathically.

 ** _"_** ** _I'd look grotesque doing that!"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Come on!"_**

Nami joined into the _negotiations_ , trying to look as sweet as possible.

"For fucks sake…" Trude muttered. "Okay then, okay…. Sheesh… I'll tell you one particular story… It's a bit personal, so don't pass it on, okay?!"

"On one condition," Keiko said calmly.

"Huh?"

"Will you finally release me?"

"Oh, sorry, sorry…" Trude loosened her grip.

"Story time!" Mami cheered and sat on the ground. "Come on, Nami!"

"Yay!"

Aya silently joined the two and stared a hole in Trude.

"Damn you all… So this is a story when I was still in active service in the 501st."

"Oh, will Grandpa be staring there?!" Aya asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes… Let me start!"

"Okay…"

"So…"

 **Rhein-Main Airbase**

 **Frankfurt, Karlsland**

 **December 13, 1945**

"Hey, Toshiro…" I said shyly and approached Toshiro sitting behind the desk in the office all alone.

"Yes, my dear cousin? What's the matter?"

"Heh… I still feel fuzzy when you call me that…" I smiled. "I want to make a call…"

"Where to? Or rather – to whom?" Toshiro asked slyly.

"It's not that person you're thinking of, Toshiro, although I should do it someday. It's actually…" I clenched my fists. "… Marseille…"

"You _want_ to call _Hanna_?" Toshiro asked absolutely surprised. "I want to hear that!"

"Then let's go to the comm room…" I mumbled.

Toshiro grabbed my hand, and despite my vocal protests, he whizzed on to the comm room as quickly as possible.

"I saw a light at the end of the tunnel…" I muttered confused. "Oh, we're here… Can you do the usual rituals?"

"Of course," he smiled and after a minute, we heard a very familiar voice on the loudspeaker. "Katou."

"Sup, Kei?" he said to the microphone.

* * *

"Oh, I remember that!" Keiko raised her hand.

"Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to interrupt?" Trude asked a bit irritated.

"Ah… Heheh, sorry, I just got fired up, remembering what's after that…"

"Everything in moderation."

* * *

"Ah, Toshiro! What's up indeed? Wait! You know, right?"

"About who's the lucky girl today?" he mused.

"Heheh, you do know. Did you call specially to talk to Hanna?"

"Not only me," Toshiro smirked. "But fork her over, could you?"

"Sure thing, you hotshot. Oh and… I just wonder who gave all those promotions…"

"Eheheh…" Toshiro laughed dryly. "I just turned the right eyes in the right direction."

"Yeaaaah…" Keiko snickered and her quiet voice could be barely heard, "Hanna, to my office, guess who's calling?"

After a few seconds, Marseilles distorted voice said, "Who?"

"The guy you owe your promotion, you dingus. Now double time!"

"Woah, immediately!" Hanna shouted.

"Do you perhaps have a two-way PA system?" Toshiro asked curious.

"Of course, Toshiro. This way we can efficiently communicate between the buildings, now that we don't have tents that are as good in stopping sound as tin foil is good at bouncing Neuroi beams."

"Good analogy, Keiko," Toshiro grinned to himself. "Hey, is there anybody there beside you? I hear a typewriter."

"I thought you wouldn't ask," Keiko said and after a few crackles, another familiar voice said, "Hello, Toshiro, how are you?"

"Very good, Rai. Did you light a candle on the altar of your idol today already?"

"Heeheehee…" Raisa giggled loudly. "Of course I did, as every day," she said trying to sound serious. "We have something planned for later and… Oh, and do I have to thank you specifically for that promotion?"

"I just recommended you, that's all."

"And I'm just thanking you, that's all," she giggled quietly. "Ah, Miss Marseille, I warmed up the phone for you."

"Hah, now that's new!" Hanna's laugh rang across the speaker.

"Damn her…" I muttered quietly.

Another crackle or two sounded off, and Hanna cheered, "Toshiro, my man! How's life?"

"We're holding out, we have it warm, our bellies our full – plain stabilization you could say."

"Well, that's boring… But hey, we are in the same boat in that regard! This new base is reaaaaally cozy!"

"And of course you probably have your own barrack, which you decorated like a fucking saloon?"

"Lookie here, we have us a mind reader!" Hanna laughed. "I reused some of my old stuff, but mostly it's totally new furniture!"

"And I do hope that Matilda has a proper place to sleep right now. Riiiiight?"

"You don't have to guilt trip me into anything, Toshiro, I gave her a quarter of the barrack just for her. At first she was reluctant, but I said that, "It's the will of the Eagle", and she accepted. Of course it's a bit rough in terms of decorations, but I see that she's happy about her new bed…" Hanna said softly.

"Not bad, Hanna, you're learning. So, how are you feeling as a Major?"

"Bah! Like a million Reichsmarken! Or maybe two, haha!" she boasted proudly. "So, anyway, what brought you to call me today?"

"You'll be surprised, but I'm not the one that initiated this call."

"Huh? So what, you were ordered to?" Hanna asked confused.

Toshiro waved me in, and while passing her the mic he loudly said, "It was just a simple request from a mutual friend…"

I took a deep breath and said, "Hi, Marseille…"

* * *

"Hi, Trudy…" a sensual voice came to Trude's ears from point-blank range.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" she yelled surprised and turned around with her fists raised.

"Hey, don't be like that, Trudy, it's just me," the newly appeared beautiful witch with blonde hair and a cheeky smile said.

"Marseille!? What the hell?!"

"Keiko and Mami are damn tardy, so the rest sent me to check up on them, that's all. I see you're trying to tell the story of my most glorious battle?"

"Pfff… Now that you're here, why don't you tell it yourself?"

"With pleasure! But come on, all of you, there's a soiree in waiting!"

"We too?" Aya and Nami asked in sync.

"Yeah, sure! And of course you too, Trudy, the more the merrier!"

"If you're inviting… Lead the way, Marseille…" Trude sighed.

Hanna sent a mental ping to everyone and disappeared. The rest swiftly followed suit.

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	9. Chapter 9 – Liberation of Afrika

Chapter 9 – Liberation of Afrika

* * *

"Ah, the rest is coming," an ebony beauty dressed only in a uniform shirt, panties, and flip-flops noticed before anyone.

"Vigilant as always, Matilda," a Fusojin witch in a no less gaudy tropical uniform from the Second Neuroi War said with a smile.

"Heehee, Hanna is coming," a blonde witch in a desert Wehrmacht uniform giggled.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Hanna, Trude, Mami, Nami, Keiko and Aya appeared as they were during their little encounter.

"Ho? What are you doing here?" Raisa asked just as she saw Trude.

"She dragged me in here…" Trude mumbled with a faux pout plastered to her face and pointing at Marseille. "I can go if I'm not welcome."

"No, please stay, Gertrud," Matilda said with her usual deep but caring voice. "Ah, but we have some rather distinguished guests?"

With a mental agreement as fast as light, Nami and Aya ran up to Matilda and unanimously cheered, "Hi!"

"The Queen of Gods and her cousin grace me with their presence," Matilda nodded with an all-knowing face. "This is a good day."

"Oh? You remember me?" Nami asked confused. "But we met just once!"

"I have a good memory for people's faces," Matilda smiled.

Aya in the meantime looked both at her and Nami, and she finally said, "I feel small…"

"You're not that small, Your Highness," Matilda smiled yet again. "At least you have only a few centimeters lacking to us, unlike…"

"Unlike me?" Mami popped in suddenly from behind Aya's back.

"Point and case," Matilda nodded.

"See, Aya? This is why I hate my original body!" Mami pouted heavily.

"But we love you the way you are, Grandma," Nami said as she picked up Mami, despite slight non-verbal protests, and placed her on her shoulders. "You're cute!"

"Well…" Mami muttered. "I know that people see me as cute, but that's just rooted too deep inside me…"

"How's the air up there?" Trude asked as she walked up to them.

"Better than down there!" Mami laughed heartily. "Ah, I always wanted to say that! Say, cousin?"

"Yes?" Trude, Nami and Aya asked in sync.

"Ugh, I wanted to ask Aya, but… So, which of you knows what happened on the day Afrika was liberated?"

"I know," Trude said. "I can even tell a bit about it from a sideline perspective."

"Oh?" Mami tilted her head.

"Remember what the day was?" the suddenly appearing Marseille asked.

"Nooooo…"

"It was my birthday, dumbo. Operation Bring Down The Sky coincided with my birthday," Hanna said proudly. "And Trudy here called me, heheh…"

"She did?" Keiko asked as she appeared.

"Totally!"

"Almost impossible to think of…" Aya nodded. "Oh, Trude! Finish the story!"

"Yeah, of course. Everyone, wait a moment, I'll just end what I started."

"Affirmative," Raisa winked

* * *

I took a deep breath and said, "Hi, Marseille…"

"Hoho, Trudylein! This is a very rare occasion! I have to write this in stone, hahaha!" Hanna replied cheerfully.

"Marseille, I'm hanging up…" I grunted through clenched teeth.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Marseille said apologetically.

"Now I have to be dreaming…" I sighed. "Anyway, Marseille… Uh… Happy Birthday and all that…"

"Thanks, Trudy; it's nice of you to call."

"You're being awfully nice all of a sudden… You found a man or something?"

"Ha, rich! Nah, it's just… You know, there's an operation slated for noon, and I'm trying to make the best of what can be the last day of my life…" Marseille said calmly.

"Wait, what?" Toshiro butted in. "What operation?"

"Operation Bring Down the Sky. The combined forces of the 31st and some other units will destroy the Hive over the Suez Chanel. Nice coincidence, huh?"

"Wow, seriously?" I asked. "Hey, you don't have to act like that, I know you'll win!"

"I wish I could tell you the state of my mind during this call, but no can do," Marseille sighed. "In the case of the worst outcome, remember that I always respected you, just like I respected Erica, maybe even more. Bye, Trudy," the connection was cut off.

"What…?" I asked with a blank face.

"She's probably not good with emotions…" Toshiro smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Just like you."

"Oh shut up…" I muttered. "I'm going to my room… And thanks for everything…"

"No problem, Trudy."

* * *

"You really fucking scared me back there…" Trude sighed. "How could you end a call like that?"

"I really thought I wouldn't make it. If not that Hive, then that Neuroi Queen could make short notice with me in 1946. But that didn't matter, huh?"

"Well, you damn won!" Trude yelled.

"Oh, maybe we should all tell what we did during that day?" Keiko asked.

"I bet it's not a funny story from your perspective, huh?" Nami asked wryly.

"Pffff… I may have been the unit commander, but that's not just desk work, damn you!" Keiko shouted, but she took a deep breath and added, "But yes, until the battle preparations, it was a dull day for me. Tina, why don't you start?"

"Me? Sure!"

* * *

"Tina, what will you be doing?" Keiko asked.

"I'll probably just kick back in my bunk and not bother until the time comes. Have any plans for me?"

"I'm just asking so I'll know where you'll eventually be in the case of emergency, that's all," Keiko smiled.

"Rai, not coming with me?" I asked.

"Oh, if you're inviting… But please, give me a few minutes so I can finish all of this, okay?"

"Sure thing, Rai, have a blast."

I buzzed out of the office and made a beeline out of the base HQ building, which was now a solid, two-story concrete building, not a slightly oversized tent. I moved north, right to my cozy barrack. Upon opening the door, I was greeted by Matilda as usual.

"Welcome back, Mistress."

"Relax, Matilda, just like I'll be doing it."

"As you wish," the witch said and moved deeper into the building.

On the outside, it was a fairly normal barrack, but it had a key feature – it was entirely owned by me, which was possible with a lot of money and a lot of _grease_ applied at and by Galland. The interior of my room was furnished like a hunters saloon, with a bar standing beside one wall, and an enormous queen sized bed making itself visible near the other. I pulled off my shoes, as not to sully the puffy carpet on the floor. Those things were a bitch to clean…

"Matilda, want something to drink?" I asked as I was nearing the refrigerator.

"No, thank you, Mistress."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged and pulled out a half-pint bottle of milk, and chugged it down in one go. "Paaaaah! Now that hit the spot. Time to drop dead on the bed until I'm needed.

* * *

"And that's that, at least till dinner."

"You won't win a Nobel Prize for that book…" Trude muttered.

"Your preparations for the last battle weren't a Ludlum grade thriller too," Marseille pouted.

"Come on you two, stop bickering," Mami came between them. "My turn!"

"Where are you?" Trude looked around into the air demonstratively.

"Fuck you!" Mami yelled and kicked Trude in the shin.

"Waaaaaaaaaarrggggh!" Trude roared as she jumped on one leg. "Why I oughta…!"

"Cousin Trude, please…" Aya raised her hand. "You brought it upon yourself."

"But she fucking kicked me!"

"Cousin Mami…" Aya looked at the half-pint Fusojin with content.

"Oh okay…" Mami sighed. "Ugh… Sorry, Cousin…" she mumbled towards Trude.

"Me too…" Trude muttered, after receiving a death glare from Aya.

"Brilliant…" Keiko shook her head in disbelief. "You're better than me, Aya."

"Oh please… The two are my family, so I bet they have a little different bond than, for example, you, Cousin Mami, and Hanna, right?"

"True, nothing beats family," Keiko smiled warmly. "Okay, Mami, go on with your tale."

"Heh, okay!"

* * *

From the moment I woke up, I had only one thing in mind – cooking. It was vital to make a good breakfast for everyone, but also a satiating but light brunch before the battle itself. The first went easy, but the second one…

"Mami, I need you in my office ASAP," Keiko's voice sounded from the PA system.

"Not NOW…" I mumbled sourly and ran up the panel on the wall. "I'm busy cooking, I can't go!"

"Ah yes. Then I'll tell it remotely – the rest of the strike force will be coming over for a briefing and a meal before the battle itself, so you'll have to cook a lot more."

"Whaaaaaaa?! How many more people?!"

"Twenty…" Keiko sighed. "Are you up for it?"

"I'll need Ruko for this! And Matilda!" I shouted in panic.

"Doable…"

* * *

"Oh, can I take over now?" Furuko asked.

"Sure!" Mami cheered.

* * *

I was doing my voluntary guard duty at the new guard booth I had at the base entrance. An air-conditioned small concrete room and windows that made up for and 180 degree view. I was sitting in a chair, humming quietly to the tunes of the radio, which played as quietly as my backing track of sorts.

"Fuko, how are you doing?" Keiko asked through the PA.

I pressed the button and replied, "Doing good, Keiko."

"I need you to dump your guard duty and go to the kitchen, Mami needs your help."

"Oh? She does?"

"We'll have guests for dinner, heheh…"

"Ah… Okay then, I'm going!" I shouted and ran out of the guard post, boarding the Type 5 Chi-Ri Land Striker that was standing beside it swiftly.

It took me only two minutes, and I was already in the kitchen, where Matilda and Mami were waiting for me.

"Great, you're here!" Mami shouted enthusiastically and jumped on the table. "Ladies! A great task is at hand! We are to make a pre-battle meal for twenty-six people! We have the resources, we have the power, but I don't know if we have the spirit to do it. Do we?!"

"Yeah!" I cheered from the top of my lungs.

Matilda looked at me, than at the sour Mami, and she sloppily cheered, "Yeeeeees…"

"Well, we gotta work with that," Mami giggled. "Let's do this!"

* * *

Keiko was outside, watching at the whole squadron descending towards their base.

"Twenty people…" she sighed. "I really do hope the girls made that dinner…"

The witch that was flying a Meteor at the front landed and taxied up to her. She wore a cowboy hat, which was protecting a slew of dark chestnut long hair.

"Oi mate, Claudia Caldwell 'ere!" she said with a thick accent and forwarded her hand.

"Keiko Katou, nice to meet you," Keiko replied slightly amused. "It's rare to see a witch from Australis over on my turf."

"Command told us to deal with that cunt 'ive, so we're here! Say… Have some grub? I'm fockin' starvin'!"

Keiko looked as the rest of the unit was taxying towards them and replied, "Come on to the canteen, the food should be ready."

"Ladies, grub's a waitin'!" Claudia shouted at her squad mates.

The spontaneous cheers made Keiko smile involuntary, and she said, "Come on, everyone! Ditch your Strikers in the hangar over there, and let's eat!"

"Be right back!" Claudia said and zipped past her towards the hangar.

 _"_ _What a bunch, heheh…"_

Keiko waited a moment for her guests to start amassing, and she led them into the mess hall.

* * *

"They're coming! Battle stations!" Nami shouted, grabbing an enormous pot of soup and enabling her Type A Strength Magic.

"Aye aye!" Furuko replied and grabbed a stack of plates.

"Affirmative," Matilda said ever so calmly and took a whole box of cutlery, and put a ladle inside of the soup pot.

"Forward!" Nami yelled and went forward with the pot over her head.

"Oi, a midget!" one of the guests shouted in wonder.

Mami grabbed the pot so hard she dented it, however Matilda kneeled beside her and said, "These are our guests, Mami, please treat them good."

"But… She called me a damn midget!" Mami whispered loudly.

"Are you not in fact?"

"I am but… Oh whatever now, dinner time…" Mami muttered and went forward.

"Hey, you're so cute!" one of the guests ran up to Mami and started pulling her cheeks. "Just like those Fuso dolls!"

Mami was now torn between letting herself being complemented and still remembering that somebody called her a midget.

"Mami, put the pot down, or there's a chance our dinner might land on the floor," Keiko commanded.

"Oi, Petra, give that lass a rest," the one near Keiko added. "Unless ya want to eat your soup with sand in it."

"Yeah, yeah, boss…" the witch stopped mangling Mami's face, but she did give her a pat on the head as a final touch.

"It's not that I didn't like it…" Mami muttered with a red face.

"Dinner's ready?" Hanna suddenly popped up from the croud.

"No thanks to you!" Mami yelled, garnering some attention from the guests.

"Everyone, please take your seats!" Keiko commanded. "Fuko, please pass out the plates."

"Yes, Keiko!" Furuko quickly started running around the tables and giving out plates, just as the girls started taking their seats.

"How about some introductions then?" the leader of the new bunch proposed.

"Please, go ahead," Keiko said with a smile.

"Colonel Claudia Caldwell of the Australis RAF! Pleased to meet ya all!"

The 31st looked at her with big eyes, which Claudia understood all too well.

"Heheh, don't worry, we're under YOUR command right now, so I'm just your mate."

"That's nice of you, Claudia," Keiko nodded with relief. "So, the rest of you?"

"Major Adrianna Goldsmith," one witch with short blonde hair and a cheeky smile stood up. "Nice to see you."

"Captain Pattie Hughes!" another chestnut haired witch shot up.

Following her example, the rest started introducing themselves.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Jane Waddy!"

"Major Katie Truscott."

"Lieutenant Lisa Clisby."

"Major Charlotte Schelf!"

"Captain Nigella Cullen!"

And so on and so forth, the girls introduced themselves up to the last one.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Robina Gibbes."

"How the hell did we not hear about all of you?" Hanna asked. "You're a unit that has nobody less than a Lieutenant!"

"We were assembled together from all around the world, some of us from units that barely made the last pages of the newspapers," Claudia said with a smile. "Hell should I know why, bloody brass… But since we're here together, I guess we stand a chance at our objective!"

"Right!" the whole Australis ensemble shouted.

"Hoho, what eagerness," Keiko giggled. "But now, let's eat. _Itadakimasu_!"

* * *

"Nice last supper…" Claudia smirked.

"Oi, oi!" Charlotte protested. "Don't be like that!"

"Yes, be mindful that I'm planning for all of us to return," Keiko said with a shrewd mile.

"Right, what's the plan?" Jane asked.

Keiko started silently reorganizing the tableware, so that at the end, she had all their glassed at one spot, and a pyramid made out of four conjoined forks at another point.

"Nice tactical map," Hanna snorted, but her face turned into a stone mask quickly. "So, explain, Kei."

"I'm getting to it," the Fusojin smiled and reorganized the cups. "We will attack in squadrons of five, so five squadrons in total, with the exception of my unit as a whole being a squadron of six. As for the tactics themselves…"

* * *

"I'll skip the boring lecture, right?" Keiko asked the gathered around her.

"Well sure, the result counts," Trude nodded.

"Yeah, tactics are boring…" Nami yawned demonstratively.

"Oh, and skip whatever happened until the moment just before battle, kay, Kei?" Mami asked. "That's kinda irrelevant too."

"Sure, Mami," Kei smiled. "So, just before the battle…"

* * *

All twenty-six witches were preparing their Strikers. Even Matilda and Furuko, who normally furiously clung to their Land Strikers normally, now both had XF-2's on their legs. Mami was amazed by this, which didn't escape Matilda's attention.

"If it's a must, it's a must. This battle will decide about the future of Afrika," Matilda said sternly.

"You can fly one?" Mami asked.

"Remember that time I had left for two weeks?"

"Yes?"

"I was secretly training with such a contraption, but that one had propellers."

"Oh, now that makes sense…" Mami nodded and looked at her Kikka. "Yup, a jet is something else though."

Mami looked around everyone else, who were armed to the teeth and all had jet Strikers on their legs.

"Ladies, the time has come," Keiko announced. "The full liberation of Afrika is at hand, however, don't cheer yet. This is a suicide mission basically, and the plan I've put together only guarantees us minimal chances of success. But execute it flawlessly, and we might see an end to that big Hive! Witches, to battle!"

Various rallying calls were heard, and all the jet engines started slowly getting into revs. After a minute, the 31st JFS formed their formation at the front, and took off.

* * *

The enormous Hive was visible from miles to come, as well as its guardians, almost blackening out the view from sheer number.

"You weren't kiddin' this would be a suicide mission…" Claudia muttered under her nose, dead in front of the formation.

The five squadrons were in a diamond formation, with the 31st in the center.

"I have never felt so tense in my whole life," Matilda said.

"Well duh…" Furuko mumbled. "Look at all the enemies…"

"Kei's plan is simply foolhardy, but damn, it looks effective," Hanna said. "Are you sure this will work?"

"It all depends on Mami," the Fusojin looked at her compatriot. "Right?"

"I do hope this will work…" Mami patted a small round pouch she wore on her hip.

"It has to work," Keiko said with a smile. "I'm here after all, right? My shield is now just a light show, so if I didn't believe in my own plan, I wouldn't be here."

"Logical to the T…" Raisa nodded.

Hanna saw a glint in the mass of the enemies, and led both by instinct and using her magic, she dragged Raisa by her collar just ten centimeters to the right, thanks to which the little Karlslander avoided a beam.

"Um… Wow… Thank you…" Raisa said dumbfounded.

"You'll thank me later," Tina winked. "Kei, orders?"

"Commence operation!" Keiko shouted through comms.

"ROGER!" she got a thunderous response.

* * *

"So what was the plan?" Trude asked all of a sudden.

"Will you fucking not interrupt?!" Hanna yelled. "We're getting to it!"

"Sheesh…" Trude backed up a step.

* * *

The formation changed into a single line, shielding Mami and Hanna in the back.

"Let's do this, Mami!" Hanna cheered and grabbed her shoulder. " _Mímisbrunnr_ …" the Karlslander whispered.

At the same time, Mami took her pouch and pulled a grey metal ball, about twenty-centimeters in diameter, and took a wind up, aiming with her left hands thumb and index finger. Her whole body flared up with a slightly blue film of magic.

Hanna looked at the Hive, which was ten kilometers away. She saw the world devoid of color, but nothing changed anyway.

"Okay, Mami, just like we trained," Hanna said with a steady voice.

Mami began to adjust her aim slowly but surely, moving her left hand around the big Hive.

"STOP!" Hanna shouted. "A bit to the left!"

Mami corrected herself and asked, "Do you see it?"

"Yes, I fucking see it! _LOS!"_ she yelled.

Mami unleashed the ball out of her hand using her magic. The ball accelerated to a hypersonic speed, and two seconds later, a loud bang was heard coming from the Hive, and the Neuroi around started exploding one after another. Just a bit later, the Hive itself disintegrated itself with an earth shattering noise. After that, there was only silence. One could hear the quiet whiz of the jet Strikers, but not much more. And then, everyone started cheering.

* * *

"And that's that, Trudy," Hanna said.

"So you used your Final Art, which enabled you to see three seconds in the future and guess the position of the core, and Mami used her Mass Drive to drive a metal ball into it?"

"Yup," Mami nodded with a grin of satisfaction. "It's good that we developed them sometime after summer ended."

"And don't you think that was an easy task, Trudy. Imagine seeing another future every time Mami even took a breath. It was so damn exhausting…"

"Sure, I acknowledge your effort," Trude shrugged. "But in the end, we all met here, in the afterlife, hahaha!"

"Hey, Hanna?" Aya asked. "Why are the Aussie girls not here?"

"Because this is a reunion for just the 31st, duh?" Hanna smirked. "Hey, we could invite them, but do you want such a soiree here and now?"

"Why not? I like to meet new people!"

"Aya, Aya…" Nami whispered to her. "Come on, we kinda forced ourselves in, let's go find someone else to bother."

"You say so? Well okay…" Aya mumbled quietly. "Um, Hanna, we're going now, but if you want, just throw us a message, kay?"

"You're going now?" Mami butted in all of a sudden. "Bawww… Bye cousin and granddaughter, don't make me waiting for another occasion to meet!"

"Heehee, sure _oba-chan_ , will do," Nami snickered.

"Same for me, Cousin," Aya bowed, and the two went off.

"Who woulda think that she's the Empress of Gods, huh?" Mami asked Trude.

"She's an Edelweiss, everything is possible with those crackpots," Trude said and cackled out loud.

And suddenly, twenty new girls appeared, all smiling wickedly at the previously gathered.

"Well then…" Trude, Mami and Hanna muttered in sync.

* * *

 **AusFlyer, I delivered XD**

 **The Ausie girls are of course based on their real world counterparts.**

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	10. Chapter 10 – The Arrow of Victory

Chapter 10 – The Arrow of Victory

* * *

"Did you really drag us out because you felt we're a fifth wheel of a wagon?" Aya asked just like that as she walked with Nami towards nowhere.

"Heh, yes. I feel that the girls wanted to have a party on their own."

"If you look at it that way…" Aya pondered. "Hey, let's find my great-grandfather!"

"Ichiro? Oh, I never met him before… Now that's odd…"

"I met him on various occasions, Nami. You know, he's a bit of a recluse, so he's probably holed up somewhere with great-grandma, heheh…"

"Holed up, huh?" Nami wiggled her eyebrows.

Aya snorted and said, "I think the perv gene was passed on through our common ancestor, heheh…"

"Heehee, probably," Nami giggled. "So, you pinged him already?"

"I am who I am," Aya shrugged and teleported both of them.

* * *

Both of them appeared before a young brown haired woman, holding a sleeping brown haired young man, who was holding a book in one hand.

"Hi, Aya," the woman said quietly with a smile. "Came to visit your great grandparents? Oh, and a guest?"

"Yes, Great Grandma," Aya returned the smile. "This is my cousin, Nami."

"Oh, but we already met…" the woman pondered. "Right, Nami-chan?"

"We sure did, Sayaka-san," Nami smiled.

"You… Oh…" Aya frowned. "It was at the funeral… Right…"

"Funeral? Who? Where?" the man woke up suddenly. "Oh, my great granddaughter and… oooh, a really beautiful guest I see?"

"Put a lid on it, Ichiro," Sayaka "patted" him on the back of his head. "The afterlife is really hell sometimes for me…"

"Well I did hear that Great Grandpa was kind of a… vivid man… At least that's what Grandpa told me…" Aya muttered.

"King Thunderhips, that was my nickname in Tokyo U, heheh," Ichiro snickered. "But Sayaka limited my sexual freedom greatly. You may not know this, but she's AWFULLY jealous."

"Like… Yandere-jealous?" Nami asked with a spark in her eyes.

"Oh please, Nami-chan…" Sayaka giggled. "Not that jealous, but I CAN fight for my man with every little slut that wants to take Ichiro away from me."

Nami shuddered a bit hearing the tone of her voice.

"So, who are you again?" Ichiro asked.

"Nami Ranmaru," she bowed slightly. "Aya's cousin and stuff."

"Oh, that's nice! Family! What did you do when you were alive?"

"School, being a soldier with Aya in one unit, then some college mixed in with being a gravure model… Then I was a photographer myself, and an editor in some."

"Oooooh…" Ichiro clapped his hands. "So, want to hear a story?"

"I kind of came with Aya for that," Nami smiled. "Please."

"Did you perhaps hear about the _Siegespfeil_?"

"Oh, that big railgun launched nuke that failed horribly at the end of the SNW?"

"Yeah…" Ichiro mumbled with a sour face. "I will give you a unique perspective on that…"

Nami dropped on her bum, looking at him with attention. Aya smiled and sat beside her.

* * *

I stepped out of the through the gates of the Yokosuka Naval Base, wearing a simple suit, a hat, and oddly sunglasses. Oddly, because it was almost the middle of October and the leaves on the trees around were already yellow.

"What nice brisk air, I missed it…" I said to myself.

I ventured on through the town streets, comparing everything to what the time when I left, and I saw very little changes. I was especially happy when seeing a certain house in the mountains, with a sign that said, "Miyafuji Medical Clinic" along with the operating hours. Thankfully, I was in luck, as the clinic was open. I walked up to the door and knocked.

"Coooming!" I heard the slightly muffled voice that I hadn't heard for six years.

 _Still in high spirits, huh, Sayaka? And did Toshiro change the door?_

I quickly corrected my moustache a bit, lifted my hat, stroked that dome of mine and stood straight. The door opened, revealing Sayaka in a doctor's apron.

"Oh, good morning sir, how can I help you?" she asked a bit surprised but friendly.

"Uhm… Hello, Sayaka…" I mumbled quietly, suddenly weighed down by a surge of feelings.

"Who…" she tilted her head, but then her eyes went wide as a 500 yen coin, and she started falling down.

I dropped my luggage and he grabbed her tightly on reflex. She reacted the same way when I proposed to her after all…

"Hey, hey…" I patted her lightly on the cheeks. "Sayaka, wake up…"

I saw that tears started coming from under her closed eyelids, and she bitterly asked, "Idiot… Where were you…?"

"I lost my memory after that accident in which I was supposedly killed… I regained it a few months ago, but I didn't have the guts to return…"

"Oh you're damn right… But, wait…" Sayaka moved and stood on her own two feet. "Ugh, that haircut doesn't suit you one bit… And that mustache, bleh…"

"What, you've forgiven me already?" Ichiro asked with a cheeky smile.

"We'll leave forgiving for the night," she giggled. "Tell me – did you perchance contact your only daughter?"

"Yes, yes, I even met her and… heheh, her fiancé. Did he live here?"

"Sure, he even fixed a few things around the house. Coming in?"

"I thought you'd never ask…"

And then, as suddenly as my appearance itself, Sayaka grabbed me by the collar, and planted her lips on mine. I didn't have the bravado nor motivation to resist.

"Well now…" I said after they finished. "You did miss me…"

"Of course, stupid…" Sayaka mumbled with a red face. "Come on…"

I went in with all his luggage, dropped my shoes and moved forward down the corridor, looking around.

"Sayaka, who was it?" a familiar voice sounded from the living room.

"Uhuh, the old crow is still cawing…" Ichiro muttered.

"Oh come on, Honey," Sayaka nudged him slightly. "Mom, you won't believe who came!"

"Sonny?"

"No!"

"Then I don't know!" she shouted back irritated.

Sayaka just shrugged and pointed out the way. I repeated her gesture, and with a sigh, she entered the room first. I shyly tiptoed behind her.

"And who could that be…" Yoshiko leaned forward, squinting her eyes.

"Ichiro returned," a stream of tears suddenly started dripping Sayaka's face. "He's alive, Mom!"

Yoshiko looked at Ichiro for a few seconds and said, "Take a piece of bamboo, and smack yourself a few times. Then take my daughter, and you best compensate her all those years of forced chastity, you hear?!"

Ichiro and Sayaka both looked at each other baffled, but then Yoshiko said, "Welcome back, Son."

"I'm back, Mother," I smiled and bowed deeply.

* * *

"Well, that's how I returned," Ichiro said.

"Baaaawww, how cute!" Nami squealed. "So, did you… heheh… compensate?"

"More than once," Ichiro smiled lecherously, receiving a smack on the head from Sayaka.

"We may be dead, but please, don't drag out our love life into the public, even if it's family…" she said with red cheeks.

"Sure, sorry, Dear," Ichiro smiled. "The family idyll didn't last for long however, since after only a week…"

* * *

We were eating breakfast peacefully, when we heard a knock on the door.

"Awfully early…" I noted. "Did you change the opening hours, Dear?"

"No, of course not… I would consult something so important with you, Honey…"

"Go already," Yoshiko said.

"Yeah…" I muttered, and wandered off to open the door.

Once I did that, I saw a blonde bespectacled girl, who wore a light jacket over a laboratory uniform. She looked at me curiously, if not a bit afraid, and asked, "Pardon, Doctor Miyafuji?"

Her voice triggered a memory in Ichiro's brain.

"Aren't you… Uh… Erica! Yes, Erica! What are you doing here?" I asked quite surprised.

"Heehee… So you must have met my twin sister, right?" she asked. "My name is Ursula, and I'm a scientist from the Rosario research facility in Neue Karlsland."

"A twin sister, would you look at that… But since you made such a trip…" I pondered a few seconds. "No, I refuse."

"Please hear me out, Doctor!" Ursula clung unto my sweater and I could smell a faint mixture of gunpowder, grease and lemon from her. "This might be a project that will save the world!"

"I already took part in developing the Warlock and the Neuroification Generator for the Yamato, no thank you," I said gruffly.

"B-But this time it will be made without even looking at a Neuroi core! I promise!" Ursula pled.

Sayaka suddenly appeared at his side, with a frown that could throw Ares to his feet.

"H-Hello Mam…" Ursula stuttered in fear, letting go of me on the spot.

"Good morning, young girl. If you've finished your business, please leave," Sayaka said coldly.

Ursula looked as if she was just about to give up, but then she pulled an envelope out of her coat, and gave it to me.

"Please read it," she said with conviction worthy her cause.

I looked at the golden envelope, sealed with the Kaiser's Eagle.

"This looks important, Sayaka… Maybe we should?"

Sayaka looked at Ursula slightly less aggressively and said, "Inside, have some breakfast."

"Oh um… Okay…"

Ursula entered the house, but she was immediately halted by Sayaka.

"Shoes, please."

Ursula almost jumped out of her shoes, and she continued.

"A guest for breakfast? Oh whatever now…" Yoshiko muttered.

"Good morning…" Ursula said quietly.

Sayaka and I took our spots, but seeing as Ursula stood there, the former said, "Don't stand like a fence picket, sit please," and pointed at a free spot beside her.

Ursula quickly scuttled to her and sat in a similar manner.

"Let's see what's inside then…" I muttered and broke the wax seal on the envelope.

Inside, just as I though, was a single letter, written with a very simple yet elegant handwriting. Both Sayaka and I started reading the content, and a after a minute, Sayaka asked, "Will you?"

"The Kaiser, my future uncle-in-law, wants me there personally, and the matter is pretty much decided with the higher ups in the IFN… How can I not go?"

"But you just returned…" Sayaka muttered with a sad face.

"It seems there are things a man can do, and what a man must do," I put my hand on Sayaka's head. "Judging from the letter, I'll be back in two months."

"At least try not to get yourself blown up," Sayaka smiled. "Go then, Ichiro."

"You're going somewhere already, grandson-in-law?" Yoshiko asked with an eyebrow raised. "Gods…" she looked at Ursula. "And you eat when you're invited to the table, child."

"But I don't know how to eat with chopsticks…" Ursula grumbled shyly.

"Eat the _tamagoyaki_ with your fingers then, you can't help it," Yoshiko said and took a piece of the rolled omelet herself.

Ursula took one of the delicacies on the table and put it in her mouth. Her eyes went wide and she mumbled, "Dewishush…"

"My Sayaka is a real genius in the kitchen," I smiled to her warmly. "And Yoshika took after her, from what I've heard."

"Oh definitely, Yoshika really made some nice food whenever I visited the 501st," Ursula smiled, remembering all her happy and not-so-happy encounters with the 501st. "I taught her something myself, heheh…" Ursula giggled, but suddenly she blushed heavily, remembering where she was and who she was talking to.

"And you want to separate me from such delicious food," I snickered, looking at her red face. "I'll go pack my suitcase. And don't worry, I'm not trying to escape through the back door."

"Errr… Actually the house is surrounded by the Wehrmacht…" Ursula twirled her fingers around. "The Kaiser wants you badly…"

"Barbarians," Yoshiko huffed. "They probably stomped all over my flower bed!"

"Our flower bed, Mom," Sayaka corrected her. "And really now, Ursula-san, isn't this a bit of an overkill?"

"Better safe than sorry, I guess…" Ursula almost whispered from the shame.

"Go already, Honey, let's not prolong this unnecessarily, okay?" Sayaka asked me.

"Of course," I nodded and went to the study.

"Please, have some more, Ursula-san," Sayaka pointed out to the food. "Let's say I have accepted you for now, since you're a friend of the kids."

To those words, Ursula simply slid down on the floor and covered herself with her jacket, muttering something unintelligible.

"At least the poor girl has a conscience," Yoshiko nodded and slurped down some tea.

Nobody bothered Ursula until I returned, and I waited until Sayaka said, "Have a safe trip, Honey."

"Of course I will, heheh…"

Sayaka stood up and hugged me tightly, and that's when Ursula finally came out from her "hiding".

I finally "took notice" of her and said, "Lead the way, Ursula-san."

"Oh please, I'm not worthy…" she muttered with a red face.

"Ursula then? Won't that bother you?"

"N-No, please…"

"Forwards."

Once we exited the house, I saw a six-man unit of _Fallschirmjäger_ , gunned up and ready for killing, standing there and waiting for them.

"Um… At ease, the Doctor is coming with us peacefully…" Ursula said quietly.

The whole bunch loosened up a bit, but they weren't near enough striking a conversation with me, thus, the trip to the docks was rather silent.

"This again…" I sighed as I boarded the airboat. "I hope this will be an easy trip…"

* * *

"I have to say the trip was rather pleasant," Ichiro said with a hint of melancholy. "The gruff guys opened up to me, we played some cards, threw around some sexist jokes and such… Ursula and I even agreed to go on first name basis. I saw Hawaii, LA, Acapulco... Lima, I believe, and finally Buenos Aires."

* * *

"We're here," Ursula said after she parked the Kübelwagen before the OKW building.

"I never would have thought a girl…" Ursula looked at me crookedly. "A young woman…" now she smiled satisfied. "…would drive so elegantly. And a scientist to boot!"

"I decided to acquire skills necessary for a normal life, Ichiro. The war may come to an end abruptly, and then what? Should I stay in the army? CAN I stay in the army?" Ursula asked.

"You never know," I shrugged. "Are we going then?"

"Yes, of course," she nodded her head and climbed out of the car. "Follow me closely."

I of course did so, and in a moment, we were standing before a reception desk, manned by a pretty blonde witch in a _Heer_ uniform.

"Oh, would you look at that?" she asked, seeing the two. "You finally got a man, Ursula?"

I muffled my laugh, but Ursula, although with a slightly rosy face, replied sternly, "The doctor is not my man, stupid. I'm bringing him in for a visit with the Kaiser."

"Ah, yes, yes, I got a notice just an hour ago, you may go," she nodded. "By the way, who is he?"

"If I may," I went forward. "Doctor Ichiro Miyafuji, pleased to meet you Miss…"

The witch made wide eyes, but Ursula managed to lean over the desk and poke her in the forehead, making her return to the living.

"Uh, yes, yes… I'm Oberfeldwebel Helga Hildemeir, promoted just recently…" the blonde witch replied uncertainly.

"Really, a pleasure," I bowed slightly. "We're going, Ursula?"

"I see a similarity with your son-in-law…" Ursula said as she furled her brows. "Yes, we're going."

We went up the stairs, and after going around a certain corner, we saw a silver haired witch sitting behind a massive desk, beside an even more massive door. She had the same uniform as her counterpart down below, but she looked more vicious and mature.

"Who goes there?" she asked when she saw us.

"Ursula Hartman and Ichiro Miyafuji," Ursula replied swiftly.

"Come here," she waved the two in.

She looked at us carefully when we approached her desk.

"I recognize you, Ursula, however I must have an outdated photo of the doctor…" she muttered as she passed on a photograph of Ichiro made in 1939 to the original standing before her.

"Well indeed, that's quite dated…"

"I can vouch for him, Inge," Ursula said with conviction ringing from her voice.

The massive door started opening suddenly, and Inge shot up from her seat, saluting so fast that I barely registered it with his eyes. Ursula hesitated a bit, but she did the same.

A bit rounded man in a ceremonial military uniform came out of the room, saying, "Are you here already, _Fraulein_ Hartman?" he asked with a jovial voice.

" _Ja-Jawohl!_ " Ursula yelled from the top of her lungs so loud that Ichiro didn't even suspect her.

"Magnificent!" he clapped his hands together and looked at Ichiro. "My, you really have changed, doctor Miyafuji. I saw you at one your symposiums, but I never had the chance to talk to you personally!"

"At least bow…" Inge barked through her teeth.

Ichiro slowly lowered his head, but then the Kaiser said, "Ah please, please, enough of the formalities. Come, doctor. And you Ursula come too. We have some technicalities to discuss."

The Kaiser pointed towards the open door and went inside. I followed him, and I almost fell over, seeing the golden splendor of the room.

"Come here!" the Kaiser ordered, and sat on one of two luxurious sofas, which were placed before each other.

I went and sat on one of them, with Ursula shyly joining me at my right side.

"Ah, but wait," the Kaiser moved to the edge of the sofa. "Maybe something to drink? What kind of host am I?!"

"Oh please, don't bother, your Highness…" I tried to talk him down, but I underestimated my speechcraft.

"I insist, dear doctor. You don't want to drink with your future uncle-in-law?" the chubby man asked with a sly smile.

"So we're going that way?" I asked with a fitting facial expression.

"You forgot to add "your Highness," _Herr_ _Doktor_. We have not drunk a _Brüderschaft_. Yet."

"Pardon, Your Highness," I grinned.

The Kaiser went to a big globe, which he opened, revealing a small cache of spirits.

" _Fraulein_ Hartmann, what will you peruse? And I take no for an answer, if you're by car, I will arrange a driver."

"W-Wine please…" she said silently.

"Don't want to get drunk in front of your beloved leader?" the Kaiser laughed. "Fine, _Fraulein_. You first, come up."

Ursula scuttled towards the Kaiser. He gave her a crystal wine glass, and filled it halfway with red wine.

"Hundred year old Porto, _Fraulein_ , don't waste it," he winked.

Ursula's right hand started shaking, but I gently grabbed it and said, "Easy, Ursula, really…"

"O-Okay…" she muttered and somehow calmed down.

"And for us… Thirty year old single malt," the Kaiser said and pulled out a rectangular bottle made out of thick glass and two whiskey glasses. "Sadly I don't have any ice, _Herr Doktor_ …"

"We drink sake warm, Your Highness," Ichiro smirked.

"Ah, no problem then," he poured two quarter full glasses. "So, I guess you know what happens now?"

I sighed deeply and replied, "Lucas…"

"Yes…" the Kaiser muttered lowering his head.

We did the required ritual, and then bumped our glasses shouting, "To Lucas!" and downed them in one go.

"Okay then, Franz…" I exhaled as the whiskey burned his throat thoroughly. "What do you want?"

"Straight to the point, huh, Ichiro? Fine then – we're building an enormous railgun, capable of firing nuclear bombs from Rosario all the way to Berlin."

I looked at Ursula, who was quietly sipping her wine, and she replied with a nod.

"A bit futuristic…" I mumbled. "But how am I needed exactly?"

"Every capable brain is needed, Ichiro. You're knowledge could prove invaluable, and that's why I had to rip you away from your wife and mother-in-law," Franz said with a hard voice. "This is about the future of humanity…"

"I'm actually happy about the mother-in-law," I snickered. "If you say it's about the future of humanity… But do tell me one thing – is there any Neuroi derived technology planned to be used?"

"Absolutely none," Franz replied sternly. "I know about your unfortunate history with Neuroi based technology, and Toshiro has made it clear not to try to use it anymore."

"Right, about Toshiro… Nice boy, huh?"

"I bet he'd frown if you called him a boy," Franz smiled. "He's the hero we need, both as a propaganda figure and as an important military asset. I'm proud to be his family. If I could, I'd bring him the Moon on a golden chain…"

"His father was your half-brother after all…" Ichiro sighed. "Well then, time is money, Franz. I'll be going wherever you need me to go."

"I love that attitude, Ichiro. You'll be going to Rosario to work with the rest, simple. Don't worry, the accommodation is proper."

"A brain just needs nutrients to work, and a few hours of sleep to rest," I shrugged and put my hand forward. "Till next time, and hopefully in a peaceful world, Franz."

Franz shook my hand tightly and replied, "Of course, my friend. Come with me, both of you."

We followed Franz out of the room, where of course Inge was saluting sharply.

"Inge dearest, who was Adolfine's adjutant again?"

"That was Feldwebel Joachim Spitzer, I believe, _Mein Kaiser_ ," Inge replied almost instantaneously.

"Ah yes, a nice lad. Call him; we need a driver for the two."

"Of course!" her hand shot to the phone on the desk like a lightning bolt.

"Bye then," the Kaiser said to the us.

"Yeah, bye, Franz," Ichiro said and looked at Ursula. "Come on, let's go."

"Uh, yes…" she muttered.

As they went down the stairs, he asked, "A bit confused, huh?"

"Like never… I know Toshiro likes to pull such stunts, but this is really over the top when viewed from such a distance…"

"Desperate times need desperate measures…"

* * *

"Afterwards, we met Joachim Spitzer, dear Adolfine's adjutant then, and husband later on. We went straight to the military airport and boarded a plane waiting especially for us."

"Wow, the rulers of old sure had influence…" Nami nodded with reverence.

"Remember, Nami – before democracy made its way around Europe after the Second Neuroi War, monarchs had absolute power. You could say my granduncle was the last of a dying breed," Aya smiled.

"Oh shush, I listened in history class!" Nami pouted. "And I do remember that it was Cousin, who singlehandedly flipped the political system of Karlsland upside down."

"I knew he'd pull off such a stunt," Ichiro said. "He really just wanted to spend a peaceful life with my daughter, but refusing a coronation could have been viewed wrong in many ways, and destabilize the booming economics of post-war Karlsland, so he mixed the two best options…"

"And made himself the first president of the Bundesrepublik of Karlsland, abolishing monarchy, and instituting a constitutional government," Nami said proudly. "See, Aya?"

"Yes, yes, you watched out," Aya snickered. "So, Great Grandpa, what was next?"

"Next was my arrival in Rosario…"

* * *

Once we exited the plane, we saw that a Kubelwagen was already charging towards us, driven by seemingly nobody.

"Did you develop remote controlled cars already? I don't see that antenna…" I scratched my head in wonder.

Ursula earnestly chuckled and said, "No, that's just Helma. She's a bit on the short side, so she has a bit of trouble peeking over the wheel…"

"And she was given a car?" I now asked confused.

"She's good with them," Ursula shrugged with a smile on her face.

"She could use a book or some wooden blocks… Yoshika told me that Toshiro taught her how to drive a truck in a similar manner."

"Helma is too proud…" Ursula sighed. "Especially after she was promoted just recently…"

The car drifted around the runway and stopped only a meter before them, with the rear of it facing them. A blonde girl, not more than one-and-a-half meter high, jumped out of the car and saluted towards them, standing beside it.

"Leutnant Helma Lennartz!" she shouted proudly. "Reporting for driving duty!"

"Oh come on, Helma…" Ursula muttered embarrassed. "This is Toshiro's, basically set in stone, father-in-law, so you can ease up."

Helma tilted her head, but she lowered her hand and smiled.

"Okay then, then the other way around. It's nice to meet you, _Doktor_ Miyafuji. Any family of Toshiro I'll gladly welcome here and anywhere else," her voice softened up a bit. "Come on, let's go to the main building, it may be early spring here, but it's still cold."

"Yeah, but it's a bit warmer than in Fuso nevertheless. Maybe I should drive?"

"Oh no!" Helma yelled. "The driver's seat in this Kübelwagen is my absolute territory, and I won't give it to anyone less than the Kaiser himself!"

I quickly raised my hands above my head and shouted, "Don't shoot, I surrender!"

Helma looked at him suspiciously, but she slapped her forehead and mumbled, "Ugh, I'm sorry, I overreacted… But still, I want to drive, and that's final."

"Of course," Ichiro smiled.

They boarded the car, and Helma quickly drove them to the main building.

"Ursula, are you going to your workshop right now?" Helma asked. "I can drop you off."

"No, I was told to report to Professor von Braun with Ichiro. But thank you for your concerns," she smiled. "Until next time, Helma."

"Sure, Ursula, till next time. And to you, _Herr Doktor_ ," she nodded to Ichiro.

"Likewise," I said and he exited the car. After entering the building, I heard somebody furiously banging on a typewriter.

"Yup, Gisele is at work hard," Ursula sighed. "Poor girl has been working like a machine the past few weeks. Well, it earned her a promotion though…"

"I guess she's the chief typist here, right?"

"And receptionist too."

We approached the reception desk, but the short dark bob cut haired witch was still banging on the keys of the typewriter with the speed of three people.

"Gisele…" Ursula quietly said, but unfortunately, that somehow startled Gisele, and she moved her right hand in such a way that she stuck the carriage release lever, which shot into the stack of papers she had on her desk.

"VON BRAUN WILL KILL ME!" Gisele yelled as she started gathering the documents.

Ursula and I reacted lightning fast, and both of us started helping her.

"Gisele, I'm sorry…" Ursula whimpered as she picked up some papers.

"Oh, it's you?" Gisele asked surprised, stopping her actions. "Couldn't you wait until I finished?"

"Sorry… I think we are in a hurry…"

"We?" Gisele asked and looked around, spotting me. "Oooooooh riiiiight… Sure, if that's the case, just leave me now. Von Braun told me to prod you towards the conference room once you arrive. They're all waiting for you."

"All?" Ursula asked, feeling cold sweat dripping down her back.

"All."

"Whew…" Ursula loosened her collar. "Um, then we really should go, Ichiro…"

"Let's go then," I put down a stack of papers on the floor. "Sorry for the interruption."

"Partially my fault," she shrugged and resumed her paper picking.

* * *

"And right then, we had a meeting. Every egghead that meant something in that time was there. Literally every damn one. But I won't tell you about what was said then, because it spanned over, imagine that, twelve hours."

Both Aya and Nami whistled surprised, but the former asked, "Maybe a short version then?"

"We came to a conclusion that the _Siegespfeil_ was a viable project, _finito_."

"Wow, really short…" Aya muttered. "So, what's next?"

"I will skip everything that happened up until the launch, T minus one hour."

 **Siegespfeil Launch Facility**

 **Neue Karlsland, near Rosario**

 **December 31** **st** **, 1945**

 **1840 ART**

"T minus one hour, start pumping the ether!" a voice shouted from the PA system.

I was looking at the _Thorshammer_ railgun from the control center. Everything was built in a place where there was a forest. The enormous cannon was now in an idle position, standing in the center of an enormous concrete plaza like a giant tuning fork, illuminated by countless searchlights, since it was already dark outside.

"A few months of ether donations are now being pumped into the power array under the railgun…" Einsten said from his chair.

"And a ten percent safety margin," I added. "Now that's a sacrifice."

"Indeed, but I'm more concerned about the _Siegespfeil_ itself," Von Braun said. "I personally oversaw the design and supervised the construction, and yet, something tells me that I shouldn't rest on laurels yet…"

"Come on, my friend, the design is foolproof, and it's made out of the top grade materials. Striker components are made of lesser quality materials," Einstein laughed.

"A scientist always doubts, that's what makes him a scientist…" I chimed in.

"…and not a priest," Ursula giggled, making the rest also laugh a bit.

Half an hour later, an enormous crane loaded the _Siegespfeil_ into the _Thorshammer_. Nothing went wrong, so everyone just waited. The radio technicians were calibrating the radio equipment inside the control room, and also outside of it, checking all the cables and wiring going to and onto the enormous antenna array.

"Everything okay outside," one voice reported.

"Good, get inside the bunker," Ursula commanded through the PA system. "Aim the railgun!"

The door opened behind us, and the Kaiser himself, with Inge and the most important generals at his side came in. Ursula saluted, just like all other military personnel inside the control room.

"Good evening, everyone," the Kaiser said with certainty. "Is everything prepared?"

"Two minutes till launch, _Mein Kaiser_ ," Ursula said.

"Then I will keep this short. _Fraulein_ Hartman, may I have the microphone?"

"Of course," she said and stepped aside.

The Kaiser walked up to the microphone and pressed a button.

"Everyone involved with the _Siegespfeil_ project, this is your Kaiser. Everything you have done until now will go into history, be it our swan song, or a hymn of victory. We now rely on the fruit of cooperation of scientists of various nationality, race, and beliefs. This is the closest humanity has ever come, and my only wish is that this peace between nations could go on forever. Whatever happens now, I thank you wholeheartedly for your work. Everyone, from a witch that donated some of her magic, right up to the great minds that put all of this together – thank you once again."

"Thirty second…" Ursula whispered.

We all moved closer to the window, looking at the now aimed railgun, shining from the energy poured into it.

"Bearings set, elevation nominal, ether saturation 100%, energy output 1.2 terrawats!" the chief technician shouted. "We're ready for launch!"

"Ten…" Ursula said and waved at the radio technician, who now set the apparatus to full power. "Nine… Eight… Seven… Six…"

"Five, four, three…" everyone counted.

"Two…" I said louder.

"One…" Franz closed his eyes with hope and pressed the big black button with red stripes on it.

The railgun shone with a blinding light and the _Siegespfeil_ disappeared. Everyone started cheering, but I walked up to the radio technician and said, "Patch me through to the 501st."

"Affirmative," he responded, turned a few dials and pointed at the microphone.

"501st, anyone there? Hello? Toshiro, can you hear me?"

"Daddy!" I heard Yoshika's excited voice.

"Hi, Sweetie. I guess you can hear me. The Siegespfeil launch is a success, ETA six minutes. Toshiro, use all your powers and the detonator to ascertain its distance!"

"Roger that," Toshiro said.

"Daddy…" Yoshika said with a sad voice.

"Don't worry, Yoshika, everything will be okay."

"I love you…"

"I love you too, Sweetie. I hope we'll meet again soon."

"Okay!" Yoshika cheered.

"Ichiro, if this fails, I'll personally smack you in hell!" Mio shouted.

"You'll have to get in line, heheh…"

"Hahaha!" Mio laughed.

"Take care Mio, and everyone, Ichiro out," I said and showed the technician to cut the transmission, feeling that he was about to cry.

The Kaiser walked up to me, slamming his hand on my shoulder, and shouting, "Don't worry, Ichiro! I'll be on the wedding of the kids, hahaha!"

"Heh…" I smiled. "Well, if you say so, Franz…"

For the next minutes, everyone waited in a tense atmosphere. The time where the _Siegespfeil_ should strike passed a few minutes ago already, but everyone almost literally held their breaths, as the radio was silent. And then, everyone saw a pillar of light from the direction of Berlin.

"The world is truly ending…" Ursula gasped.

"No, that must be Toshiro," I said with conviction. "I don't believe Neuroi are able to…"

"BEGONE!" everyone suddenly heard a shout in the air, clear as day and thundering.

It startled all of us visibly, but then the pillar tilted. The dead silence once again rung in our ears. One of the clocks inside the room ticked a bit louder, signifying an hour change. The Kaiser looked at it, and saw that it's 8 PM dead.

"It's New Year, my dearest subjects," he noticed with a shy smile.

And then, they heard Toshiro's weak voice through the radio, singing Auld Lang Syne. I rushed to the microphone, and shouted, "Toshiro, what's going on?! Toshiro!"

"It's over," Mio's calm voice said. "The Neuroi Matriarch is dead. Yoshika just zipped towards Toshiro, whose now falling down from the sky."

A phone rang on one of the desks, which Keitel managed to snatch first.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Numerous reports of both Neuroi and their Hives decomposing themselves spontaneously are arriving from all around the world!" some male voice cheered. "The war has ended!"

"Thank you…" Keitel said with a tear in his eyes and placed the receiver back on its place.

He stood up, snapped into attention, and shouted, "On January 1st 1946, exactly at midnight, the war has ended, _Mein Kaiser_!"

"How's my nephew, Ichiro?" Franz asked.

"Yoshika? Do you hear me? How is Toshiro right now?"

"Oh, Daddy! He's okay! He's unconscious though, and barely alive! But he'll live, don't worry! I'm flying as fast as I can with him towards Bern and healing him at the same time! I love you, bye!"

"That's good news, I guess…" I said.

"It is," Franz smiled. "The Neuroi are finally gone… Postpone all celebrations until it is confirmed that my nephew will live. But beside that, I wish you all a Happy New Year in a new world."

* * *

"And that's how the Second Neuroi War ended from my perspective," Ichiro said and leaned back onto Sayaka's lap. "Was that helpful?"

"We knew some of that from history, but damn, it was nice to hear it from the horses mouth!" Nami cheered.

"Neigh…" Ichiro mumbled, making all the girls giggle.

"Thank you, great grandfather," Aya bowed slightly. "You know, I might be a goddess now, but I can't probe other gods minds, and I still can't read residual memories from places so…"

"Of course, Sweetie, I understand," Ichiro smiled. "As a man of science, I prefer to come to conclusions myself, not just hear the results."

"As a former man of science," Sayaka said and ruffled up his hair. "It was fun to be with you girls."

"Likewise," Nami nodded. "So, Aya, next stop where?"

"I don't know, let's just take a walk. Bye, great grandparents!"

"Bye, ever-so-distant family," Nami giggled.

"Bye kids," Ichiro waved to them as they ran away. "Aya is such a nice girl…"

"She is our great granddaughter after all," Sayaka said proudly, and the two just laughed.

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	11. Chapter 11 – Disturbing a Child

Chapter 11 – Disturbing a Child

* * *

"This place really is almost infinite…" Nami sighed. "Aya, did you… dunno, scan this whole world?"

"You didn't?" Aya asked. "Oh right…"

"Yes, Aya, not everyone has an even-more-than-godly power like you," Nami nudged her. "And data for me?"

"This place really is almost infinite," Aya repeated Nami's words. "Almost. It's a sphere, but so big, that we could walk around for ten years and still not traverse it."

"And yet, we're bumping into people we know."

"Because we're in the most populated part, Nami," Aya smiled, and she raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I sense two people I know… Come on, just over the hill!"

They traversed the hill in a flash, and the two saw Adolfine and Sieglinde almost naked, dressed only in string bikinis. The two were staring at each other while flexing the muscles on their bodies.

"Hubba hubba…" Nami tugged her collar. "I saw Sieglinde in her peak form, but who is the other woman?"

"That's my Auntie," Aya smiled. "Well, not the real deal, it's more of a cultural thing… Well anyway, that's Adolfine Galland, somebody who helped Grandpa a lot during the Second Neuroi War."

"I bet he boned her."

"Yeah…" Aya muttered. "Who wouldn't?"

"Gimme ten minutes alone with her…" Nami huffed. "Or five with both!"

"You really haven't met her before? She was presen... Oh…" Aya interrupted herself.

"Yeah, that one time," Nami shrugged. "Who thought that a prick with a rusty nail could end like that…"

* * *

"It seems we are being spied on, Trude's grandspawn," Adolfine smiled mysteriously.

"This whole wide world, and we're being observed…" Sieglinde sighed. "But it's Aya and Nami, it's okay."

"I know Aya, but whose Nami? I forgot… I think…"

"Aya's cousin, from the Ranmaru's," Sieglinde flexed her bicep to the point one would think her skin would burst.

"Oh, so that's Mami's grandkid? How nice, I want to meet her," Adolfine did the same as Sieglinde, but with better results.

"Damn, how can you be buffer than me?" Sieglinde asked sourly.

"Oldschool always wins," Adolfine snickered and turned towards the girls, waving to them.

* * *

"Busted," Aya snickered. "Come on, Nami."

"Mwuhuhuhu…" Nami giggled creepily.

Aya and Nami ran to the two buff goddesses.

"Sup, Aya?" Sieglinde asked.

"Everything fine and dandy, just as your body," Aya smiled.

"Puh, that means it's peachy, haha!" Sieglinde laughed.

"If she compared it to mine, that would mean some small miracle happened," Adolfine said caustically, but instead of looking at Sieglinde, she gazed at Nami. "My, from up close, you're much more… curvaceous…"

Nami's hand wandered towards Adolfine almost subconsciously, but the Fusojin herself smacked it down and smiled innocently.

"You like?" Adolfine grabbed her breasts and propped them up a bit.

"Hnnnnnnnggggg…" Nami writhed in suppressed lust.

"Auntie, please… Despite having a successfully sex life with the opposite gender, she'll go lesbian on you at the drop of the hat if you have what it takes," Aya explained a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, then no qualms then," Adolfine quickly grabbed Nami's hands and placed them on her own boobs. "So, how are they? One hundred percent natural!" she grinned viciously at Sieglinde.

"There are also real, Missy," Sieglinde retorted in the same way. "I restored my legit boobs from when I was just after my pregnancy."

"I can attest, had my hands on them both during my life and here," Nami said while smiling blissfully and kneading Adolfine's boobs.

"I'm suddenly feeling weird…" Adolfine muttered and peeled off Nami off herself. "Should be enough."

"Now Sigi!" Nami cheered.

"Woah!" Alissa appeared out of nowhere between her and Sieglinde, stopping the Fusojin in her tracks.

"Great…" Adolfine muttered. "You want a grab too?"

"Oh please, I'd grab you a billion times a second if I wanted, but am I doing that?"

"I don't know. I'm not even remotely nearing a sliver of your power…" Adolfine grumbled.

"Well, anyway, girls other than Adi here – who wants to know how I persuaded Toshiro to let Aya's parents send her to the Bundeswehr, despite a stack of papers proving she's unfit for duty?"

"I want to know myself…" Aya squinted her eyes. "But I bet you didn't influence him with your powers, right, Alissa?"

"No, not a bit."

"Oh, if it's a story about Toshiro, I'm in!" Sieglinde dropped on the ground sitting.

"Girl, you'll get a cold," Alissa smirked and clothed her and Adolfine in a tracksuit.

"Ah, thanks…" the blonde Karlslander replied.

"Now then, here's a nice story about your favorite neighborhood perv."

 **Edelweiss Residence, Karlsland**

 **August 1** **st** **, 1978**

 **0930 GMT**

Toshiro was sitting in his favorite chair, reading the local newspaper out of pure boredom, since he was on a self-set timeout after a failed experiment.

"Anything interesting?" Yoshika asked from the sofa, where she was reading some cheap romance.

"They want to raise the garbage disposal fees by ten percent from the beginning of the new year…" Toshiro sighed.

"Oh?" Yoshika raised her eyes from over the book. "Will you do something about that?"

"I'll ask about a detailed prognostic later, I don't want to rack my brain running a simulation…"

"Lazy ass…" Yuki spoke all of a sudden.

"I love you too, snake. Now scoot."

"Suuuuure…"

"It's always nice of Yuki to pop up," Yoshika giggled. "How about we visit our kids, huh?"

"Which, dearest?"

"Akiko of course…" Yoshika sighed.

"Say that you want to visit Aya," Toshiro smiled and stood up. "Well, if you want, I can take…"

The ring of the doorbell interrupted his sentence.

"Who could that be?" Yoshika asked surprised.

"Beats me," Toshiro shrugged and went to the door.

When he opened it, he saw a witch, a Major of the Bundeswehr, with long blonde hair dangling from her head freely. He quickly shut the door and turned it into a solid slab of a material harder than a diamond.

"Toshiroooo, you know you can't stop me like thaaaaat," the Major mused.

Noiselessly, he drew Oblivion Lost and swung it through the transformed door without making a single creek. He looked through the cut he made and saw the Major smiling at him wickedly.

"Get the fuck out of my world, Kye…" Toshiro growled.

"No can do, Buster. You had your time out from the gods, but now you have to let me into your life again."

"What now, huh? You want me to help some mortal incarnation of your do some random bullshit to keep me busy?"

"Nope, it's not random, and definitely not bullshit. It's about Aya."

Toshiro's fuse burnt through completely, but just before he could react, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He recognized it immediately.

"Hello, Master…" Livy said shyly. "Since a precedence has been made, I thought I could appear…"

"Well… Now that Kye fucking pried herself into my life again, you're a welcome guest, Livy… Well you always were, but… Ah, whatever - Kye, for fucks sake, come in…"

The door reverted into its normal state, and Kye entered the house in a normal manner.

"What's the getup?" he asked.

"My official cover story. I've just written myself into this world, and if you allow it, and I know you will, I would like to send the knowledge directly to your brain," Kye explained in her usual manner.

"Yeah, yeah…" Toshiro muttered, and in a finger snap, her knew all about Kye's new fake life. "Alissa again, Jesus, how original…"

Toshiro saw as Yoshika peered out of the saloon with a grumpy face.

"Not again…" she muttered. "But hi, Livy."

"Good day, Mistress," Livy smiled. "How were you all these years?"

"Do I even need to tell you?" Yoshika smirked. "Come on all of you, sit down and let's talk like civilized people and gods."

"Yoshika still likes to wear the pants in the family sometimes, huh?" Kye grinned.

"Pff, of course…" Toshiro muttered. "That's why I still love her…"

Only Kye saw the small frown on Livy's face right now, as Toshiro mentioned about love.

 ** _"_** ** _Be strong, Livy."_**

 ** _"_** ** _I'm trying with all my might… But being without Master after I was reacquainted with him is taking a toll on me…"_**

The four moved into the saloon and sat at the table.

"It's pleasant in here, Master. Both you and the Mistress did a good work," Livy said with a smile on her face.

"Oh please…" Yoshika blushed.

"Spill the beans, Kye…" Toshiro asked annoyed. "What did you mean by "it's about Aya," huh?"

"Of course, straight to the topic. You see, Toshiro, the problem with your granddaughter is that she will just go to waste if you let your daughter and son-in-law make her pursue a "mortal" career path."

"It's not about making them, Kye," Yoshika chimed in. "Aya really is unfit for military duty on various levels. You of all… persons should know about that."

"Indeed, I know. But her inability to serve in the army isn't that sever as you two might think, or rather, it won't be if I step into the picture."

"What, you'll cure her of her ailments?" Toshiro snorted. "Fucking rich, I know you won't raise a finger unless it's your family, and frankly, that's not even granted, since you're so fucking above everything, only throwing cryptic ass messages all around."

Kye sighed and said, "Yes, Toshiro, you're mostly right. Let's say my personal code of conduct forbids me from "helping" with the use of my power. However, what I will propose you is something new. I will become Aya's guide, instructor, buffer, confidant, bodyguard and finally her friend in the Bundeswehr. I will bring out most of her potential, stabilize her psyche a bit, and just be there for her. And what's more important – everything without even using my power."

Both Toshiro and Yoshika raised an eyebrow each, stunned and perplexed by her offer.

"That's a very nice offer," Livy nods. "Not even looking into the future, I bet the Young Mistress will come out of this stronger."

"You didn't look, right?" Kye asked with a coy smile.

"Of course not," Livy puffed her cheeks while looking to the side.

"What do you say, Toshiro?" Yoshika asked him with a smile that would melt an iceberg.

"I'm assaulted by a woman I hate, the woman of my life, and a woman that's an even bigger mystery to me than the first one, but whom I respect deeply…" he sighed. "Okay, okay, have at it, Kye… But I'm warning you – implant your weird sense of justice, ideals or any other bullshit associated with you, and I'm willing to escalate this."

"It's not as if the Primordial Goddess would intervene," Kye shrugged. "But okay, I promise you, Toshiro – I'll try to bend her over your way."

Toshiro snorted involuntarily, making Kye grin heavily.

"Sure, sure… That means that we should go to her parents and talk this over a beer," Toshiro nodded and looked at Livy. "Sorry, but I guess you have to leave…"

"It's okay, Master," Livy bowed her head slightly. "We will meet again in the future," she said and disappeared.

"Off we go then," Toshiro stood up and stood up.

* * *

"And that was more or less it," Kye said. "Aya, your parents crumbled even faster when confronted with your grandparents and me combined."

"You know…" Aya furled her eyebrows. "I remember… I remember that I eavesdropped on the conversation!"

"Took you some time," Kye smirked. "But I think that Kuro filtered it out then…"

"Indeed, he has. That little lizard thought it was a good idea. Well, when you were confronted with the facts, you couldn't run anyway."

"I was scared shitless, to say it bluntly," Aya sighed. "But of course of all the people, you should know how Grandpa has his way around with words…"

"Oh he has…" Adolfine said melancholically. "Trust me, Aya, if he weren't married with Yoshika, he'd be with me."

"That is a possibility," Kye said. "But what was done, was done."

"Say, would I have a good chance at that?" Adolfine asked curiously.

"Sure, Adi," Kye grinned. "You would be the first candidate. Then Shirley, Minna, Mio… and that's about it."

"Heheheh, good to know," Adolfine smiled in a creepy manner.

"So what are we doing now, Ayaya?" Nami asked all of a sudden.

"We…" Aya was about to say something, but then, the figurative light bulb appeared over her head. "I know what!"

"This will be rich," Kye smiled. "I'll bring you some guests, Aya."

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	12. Chapter 12 – The Reformed Kai

Chapter 12 – The Reformed Kai

* * *

"Guests?" Aya asked.

"Yup. Just do what you wanted to do now," Kye answered.

"Sure…" she shrugged and pulled a small red crystal seemingly out of nowhere.

"Is that…" Sieglinde asked.

"Yes, that's the crystal that Xadeus left me just before I sent him into oblivion," Aya said calmly. "It's supposed to contain the knowledge of the Neuroi race spanning over hundreds of millions of years."

"You had something like that and you didn't bother peeking into it?" Adolfine asked surprised.

"Grandpa said it could be potentially dangerous, so we both didn't bother," Aya answered matter-of-factly. "Kye, do you perhaps have some plans regarding it?"

"Thanks you the meddling of Toshiro and Livy, you are now a goddess, so you CAN use that crystal without any substantial risks. But before that, guest number one!"

Kye snapped her fingers, and a very familiar young woman appeared, wearing only a skimpy training suit, which almost didn't cover her insanely trained but curvaceous body.

"G-Grandpa…?" Aya asked surprised. "No… I feel it's not you."

"Hi, Aya," the woman smiled. "Well, I used to be just a female form of Toshiro, but I'm now a living, breathing and independent entity. And also a goddess," she winked after her explanation.

"To-Toshiko…" Sieglinde's cheeks flared up all of a sudden.

The one she called Toshiko looked towards her, raised an eyebrow, and then it struck her.

"Ah yes! The one I made out with in the kitchen of that base in the middle of nowhere!" Toshiko shouted happily. "Sieglinde, right?"

"Uh, yes…" the blonde Karlslander looked at her from top to bottom. "Hubba hubba…"

"You can say that again…" Adolfine muttered. "So, why are you here and where were you?"

"I'm here probably for shits and giggles," Toshiko shrugged as she looked at Kye. "And where was I? Kye's mortal home. She hooked me up there, and I found one guy there that fit my personal preferences to the T. Oh, before you ask – I have two kids, fraternal twins."

"Aawwwwww…" Aya mused with a smile. "How nice…"

"So that's one of our guests," Kye said. "A double deal coming right up!"

With a snap of her fingers, Kye summoned two people. One was a small woman with short white hairs, made up into two buns on the top of her head, so that they looked like bear ears. The other one was a man with coal black hair, a sharp look and clocking out at two meters. Both were wearing some casual wear from the beginning of the 21st century.

"Mistress Aya, welcome," the man smiled and bowed slightly. "It's nice to see you in the flesh finally."

"And I'm glad too," the woman cheered.

"Kuro and Bianca?!" Aya made eyes as big as saucers. "Ah, wait, wait… Grandpa made that thing…"

"That every sentient familiar would gain a human body upon the death of their host, or in case of their own death beforehand," Kye budged in. "That was awfully nice of him."

"Why are we here though?" Kuro asked while looking at Kye.

"Patience, we only have one triplet of guests missing," she grinned and snapped her fingers again.

A blue eyed girl in a familiar black-and-red hexagonal pattern appeared aside of what was obviously a married couple in the same attire, only sporting red eyes this time. Everyone was clueless at first, but then Aya carefully asked, "Xala? Is that you?"

"Heheh, yes, Aya, it's me. Very long time no see! You should write more!"

"S-Sorry, Xala… After Kola's death I kinda forgot about your world…" Aya scratched her head apologetically.

"Oh… Sorry then…"

"No problem, Xala," Aya smiled and looked at the two with red eyes. "I visited Xala's world multiple times, but I don't remember seeing you two… But now I sense with my powers, that you're related in a way to Xala, am I right?"

"January 28th, 1983 in this world," the man replied with a deep but slightly soft voice. "You killed me on that day, Aya."

"And your grandfather killed me on the brink of the year 1946," the woman added and giggled a bit.

"So I'm right," Aya nods with a smile on her face. "Grandpa must have been in a good mood to turn you into demi-humans, Xadeus and Xadea."

"What?!" Sieglinde, Adolfine and Nami yelled at the same time, getting into battle mode.

"Don't worry, you could all swat the three down like anemic flies right now," Kye waved her hand, trying to calm them down. "And besides that, they all relinquished their Neuroi ways. You could say they're perfectly normal humans, beside some quirks in their body structure."

The three stood down with their attitude, but Sieglinde just asked, "Aya, are you absolutely sure this is okay?"

"It's a surprise, sure, but it is okay, Sigi. Don't worry, I have my way around such people, heehee…"

"Okay then," the blonde Karlslander shrugged.

"So, how are you two doing," Aya asks while looking at the two former mortal enemies of mankind.

"Hey, why not ask me?!" Xala protests with a fake pout.

"Sorry, Xala, but I think nothing much changed, right?"

"Well, no, besides the fact that I got a bit stronger, but not anywhere near you," Xala snickered. "Okay, back to the two."

"Thank you, Xala," Xadeus smiled. "Can I call you Aya?" he looks at the black haired goddess.

"Sure," Aya nodded.

"First of all, Aya, I would like to apologize. Of course you might say I was just a simple killing machine back then, but looking back at all the atrocities my kind have committed, I can't feel at ease before I clear this issue."

"The same goes for me," Xadea added.

"You said it yourselves – you were different," Aya sighed. "Grandpa made you that, and he was also different back then, so you might say that was a spiral of wrong design choices… I'm not the king and queen or humanity right now, but I accept your apologies on a personal level."

"Thank you," both of them said in sync.

"So now back to your question, Aya," Xadeus said. "After your grandfather gave us these bodies, the goddess here," he pointed at Kye. "…teleported us into one of her worlds, the one in which Xala was there. After a brief introduction, Xala took us into her household and started teaching us what it is to be a human being. It was a long task, since true human emotions were awakening in us slowly, but we have turned out victorious."

"We have married officially in that world, and we even have a son, Xarex," a tear glittered in Xadea's eye. "I was given the gift of human maternity, and I'm very grateful for it. Spawning Neuroi was a trivial task, but a child…"

"Praise that…" the two queens of Muscle Beach muttered in accord.

Xadea tilted her head, but then Aya explained, "Don't worry, they're just reminiscing how sour they were because their body lost a lot of tone because of their pregnancy, which they had to regain with doubled effort."

"Tone?" Xadea asked. "Ah, you mean like this?" she tugs her sleeve and flexes her bicep, not even halfway there to the two Karlslanders, but enough to make them nod in appreciation. "The human body is a wonderful construct… It adapts so well to harsh environments and training…"

"So you're basically leading a normal life, right?" Nami asked. "Like normal people and everything?"

"Indeed, yes," Xadeus replied. "Aya, have you used that crystal I gave you in my final moments?"

"Right, the crystal!" she pulls it out of her pocket. "I had so much time and didn't even bother…" she sighs. "How about we all use it together?"

"Are you sure we can do that, Aya?" Adolfine asked. "It's kinda creepy…"

"I think I'll manage to adapt its potential to my Celestial Order, don't worry," Aya smiles. "So, we're doing this?"

"Sure…" Adolfine sighed. "Sieglinde?"

"Meh, why not... Nami?"

"I am kinda curious… Uh, Xala?"

"I know a lot about them, but if there's something more to learn about them, why not… After all I learned a thing or two from one Edelweiss already, heheheh…"

"What exactly?" Adolfine furled her eyebrows, knowing what might be the answer.

"Oh, I had the best sex up to that moment in my life with Toshiro…" Xala blushed slightly.

"Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh…" Adolfine muttered. "He'll bone everything with a snatch and a pair of tits…" Adolfine looked at Xala's chest. "Well, you have the qualities…"

"Oh, thank you," Xala grinned.

"Girls, please," Aya said firmly but with a smile on her face and the crystal hovering upright above her hand. "Oh, and you guys," she snickers. "Please form a nice circle."

The gathered hushed around and quickly made a circle around Aya.

"Her goes nothing…" she whispered and spiked it with her Celestial Order power.

* * *

Everyone is seeing two suns across a slightly clear blue sky. The view shifts from them down to a lush green grassland, with basins of water in the distance. Another view shift and everyone sees a familiar Neuroi shape.

"Are you Xadea?" a voice, also familiar, asks slightly muffled.

"Are you Xadeus?" the visible figure asked.

"Yes."

The image freezes, and Aya's voice is heard, "Everyone, I'll be speeding up this projection a bit, I think all the key parts are now embedded into my consciousness."

On a fast-forward speed, everyone sees as the lush planet slowly starts turning into a barren, red soil, crystal filled wasteland as the Neuroi army grew. Between the periods of growth, they see conquests of various planets, the death of many civilizations, almost from first hand. At one point, they see some kind of enormous systematized crystalline structure. Then they almost don't notice an enormous meteor being launched by Xadeus who knows where.

"Aya, stop please," Xadeus says.

The image freezes again, and he continues.

"That is our teleportation gate, the first "model," he explains. "The latter ones were more compact and _hideable,_ and didn't need a beacon at the destination."

"So where did you land?" Nami asks.

"One of the many planets we didn't suck dry…" Xadeus sighs. "Aya, roll the tape."

"Kay."

The image starts moving at a fast speed again, showing the same process as before – the downfall of an entire planet, and some civilizations in the surrounding galaxy. The whole process repeated itself or dozens of times, when finally Xadeus said, "This is it… The beacon sent to Earth…"

Aya slowed down the "movie" and now the view changed.

"Oh?" Xadea says surprised. "I don't remember this…" she says as she sees the meteorite coming towards the Earth.

"I'm using the geomemory of the Earth," Aya snickers.

They witness a meteor striking the Yucatan Peninsula, and in turn causing the ice age that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Then they see the underground expansion of the Neuroi, and the first encounters with humankind, when they still weren't _sapiens_. Finally, they see the outskirts of Sarajevo, the place where the First Neuroi War started, when a whole armada invaded Europe after teleporting from their home planet. Fast forward, they see the same repeated September 1st, 1939.

"I think I'll be in the picture now…" Xadea says a bit uncertainly, and indeed she appears.

"Love, settle this once and for all with those puny apes," Xadeus's Neuroi voice rings in the air as he looks at Xadea the Neuroi Queen.

"Of course, love," she replies and enters the teleportation gate.

The view and time changes, and the gathered see the final moments of Xadea during the turn of the years 1945 and 1946.

"So fucking awesome…" the trio of Nami, Sieglinde and Adolfine gasped in admiration.

"Male me sure knows how to put up a stand," Toshiko giggled at her innuendo.

"Hey, Toshiro did you a few times, right?" Sieglinde asked.

"Yeah, sure. As he himself said, that was some kind of meta masturbation, more than real sex, so it doesn't count in the overall tally."

"Ah… I just wondered if I had a chance back then…" Sieglinde pondered.

"Doubt it, I know it, because I was basically him," Toshiko says firmly. "And girl, you didn't have enough after our little event?"

"It was nice…" Sieglinde muttered.

"Ugh, girls…" Aya grumbled and the memories progressed again.

All of them saw Xadeus looking towards the teleportation device, which shattered into pieces.

"So that is how it is…" he's voice sounded with unchanging tone. "Murderer… Cursed be your blood! You will see what my race can be capable of! Just you wait!"

The memories fast-forwarded one last time, showing the amassment of troops on this planet, and the start of the Cold War Crisis, as it was later named. The last thing they saw was the battle between Aya and Xadeus from his perspective. The vision disappeared and everyone now saw their "normal" things.

"I kind pity you and understand you…" Adolfine said a bit confused towards Xadeus. "You lost your beloved…"

"That was a false love," Xadeus replied adamantly. "A simple feeling of attachment, so the two of us wouldn't part our ways and do our purpose."

"So you actually HAD a purpose?" Sieglinde asked surprised. "Pray tell!"

"As our father told us in secret…" Xadea started explaining. "…we were supposed to be the regulators of the galaxy, killing off unnecessary entities. He did not however think it through and give us pre-programmed directives or limit our strength, or anything for that matter… And thus, everything what happened, happened…"

"I see…" Sieglinde nodded. "Well, that was a peculiar watch, Aya."

"Yes, indeed. And I managed to present it in a rather fathomable way, heehee…"

Jouten suddenly appeared out of nowhere at Kye's side, stopping existence in the universe, just as she herself suddenly furled her eyebrows.

"It's time," Kye said.

"Yes."

"I have to go check this out. Are you coming?"

"Where you go, I follow," Joey replied and disappeared with Kye.

* * *

 **If you feel like it, please leave a review. However, I have only one request – if you want to leave something the size of a short story, please consider discussing your points over PM. If you want to leave an anonymous review, I respect your decision to do so, but if you sign in, I can actually discuss anything with you, dear reader. Thanks for reading, and I hope the next chapter will also garner your attention!**


	13. Final Chapter - The Final Equilibrium

Final Chapter – The Final Equilibrium

* * *

Aya saw that the disappearance of the two, and when she was just about to try to locate them, the world went black around her.

She quickly conjured up a makeshift sword out of pure Celestial Order energy and just about then, the most familiar face in her life materialized before her.

"G-Grandpa?" she asked uncertainly. "Is that you?"

He just nodded with a shy smile, and Aya dispelled her sword and jumped onto him, embracing him tightly.

"It's so nice to have you back, Grandpa!" she cheered and looked around. "Oh, but where's Livy?"

Toshiro sighed a bit and peeled Aya delicately of himself, planting her on the ground.

"Livy… Won't be returning…" he said quietly, looking Aya deeply in the eyes.

Almost involuntarily, Aya started crying silently, but before she stopped thinking, she noticed something. Toshiro's eyes looked like the infiniteness of space, but in the center, as if hovering there, was a round core made out of convoluting energy, made out of seven distinguishable shades of grey.

"I see you noticed…" Toshio grinned a bit.

"Your eyes changed again, Grandpa… But what happened to Livy? Tell me, please!"

"After I left with her, I was reborn. The dice roll was rather fruitful, as I was a son of a monarch in some kind of renaissance country. I grew up, pampered as expected, but also trained as a young warrior. When I hit puberty, my Celestial Order started "leaking". Magic was present in that world, but still my power was a bit over the top, since I could basically use any magic type, regardless of the limitations of that world. It caused a lot of confusion, but hey, they treated me like a gift from heaven. On my eighteenth birthday, I had to stand and fight as the leader of my country, because one of our neighbors tried to use the death of my "father", which happened a week ago, as an opener. And guess who was the general leading the enemy troops?"

The first thing that Aya though was "Mavet" but Toshiro shook his head there.

"Livy…?" Aya asked.

"Yes…" Toshiro nodded. "Thing is, her Celestial Order mastery was at a similar level as mine. The two of us carved our way to each other in the midst of battle, and after a brief slew of verbal abuse from both sides, we tried to kill each other with a concentrated blast of pure energy… It kinda backfired… The attacks annulled each other, but when they dissipated, my memories and the rest of my power got unlocked. We looked at each other, but before I could do anything, she surrendered her whole army."

"Wow… Neat… But it doesn't end there, right?"

"No, no… Of course our telepathic abilities unlocked too, so she quickly explained her plan. She was taken in as a POW, and then… Well, she was glad she met me again," Toshiro smiled slyly. "But after we "reacquainted" with each other, she told me a terrible truth, namely that the prince in line to the throne in her kingdom was using something resembling Celestial Chaos. To top it off, his sister did the same, so you wouldn't really have to have a college degree to add the two facts together…"

"Mavet and Maeve…" Aya gasped. "But what then?!"

"It literally took them ten seconds. The planet on which we stood was wiped away out of existence and the two appeared. They just approached us casually in the vacuum of space…"

"And then?!" Aya asked impatiently.

"And then we "talked" which was a stretch already and… we started fighting. We cast off our mortal shells and engaged in combat worthy of Elder Gods. What was a bit surprising was the fact that I regained my "former stature" so to speak, so the odds of this battle were basically a coin flip."

"But something happened that toppled the odds…" Aya pondered. "Did it involve Livy?"

"Yes, sadly… Seeing as the battle was dragging into a prolonged tie, Mavet "parlayed" with me. He told me to prepare all my Celestial Order might, and he'll counter it with his Celestial Chaos. Whatever ill intentions Mavet could've had then were irrelevant, so I agreed. Both Livy and I gathered such a powerful amount of energy, that just being in a few parsec radius would incinerate someone not of Elder Godly might. And then we dropped the bomb…

Our existence basically stopped for a moment. The impact of the two attacks, and the resulting interaction of two, supposedly opposite "elements", ripped apart the very fabric of time and space around us. For a split second, I couldn't feel anything, which is something for an Elder God… And after everything calmed down, I saw Mavet torn apart from waist down, and Maeve torn in half. Both were still seemingly alive, but their "godliness" was escaping them. And then I noticed Livy… She was also ripped to shreds, barely able to even smile towards me… I was so shocked, that after I took her hand, I couldn't say a word. She didn't say anything either, and just disappeared… But she didn't just fade from existence, no… She fused with me. According with how us Elder Gods work, I just gained a reserve power, so to speak. Furious like a thousand suns, I approached the two "bad guys". Maeve tried to approach me, but she could only move a few centimeters, looking at me sorrowfully. I took her in my hands, and approached Mavet. He only cracked a smile and nodded. I placed Maeve at his side, and he embraced her with one arm. She started crying from the one eye that she had left, and she tucked herself into his side."

"What the fuck just happened, Mavet? Explain this to me…" I asked, trying to contain my emotions.

"You really are blind, Adam…" he sighed in return. "Or maybe you were intentionally blinded… Livy poured her entire being both into shielding you and amping your combined attack at the same time… She sacrificed herself, so you could have your revenge, Adam… Are you satisfied now? Is the price you had to pay right? Was it worth it…?" he asked with a fading voice but with his usual venom still in place.

It struck me then. By disappearing from the universe, I basically caused this in the first place. If I hadn't copped out back then, none of this wouldn't have happened. Just stomaching his presence and keeping quiet… Sure, we would probably go to each other's throats after a few billion years, but I doubt it would be at such a scale… But instead I've chosen a way out that would benefit only me… Of course what Mavet had done was wrong, but… He was a bit right

"It wasn't…" I replied quietly with clenched teeth. "Not a single bit…"

"I just wanted to hear that… And now I'll say something YOU probably want to hear – I'm sorry, Adam… I'm sorry that I didn't notice back then, making you do what you did… You made a poor choice, but it stemmed out of my ignorance and bliss from being with my beloved…" he held Maeve tighter. "I… I won't ask you for forgiveness… I just want you to understand…"

"I do…" I barely said aloud.

"Thanks…" he smiled and looked at Maeve. "It's time for us, my love…"

He kissed her on the cheek, and both exploded in a cluster of red particles. I looked at it for a few seconds, but then, the particles shot at me all at once. I was frozen in place, so I took a direct hit from each and every one of them. The memories of the "chaotic" pair streamed into my consciousness like a raging torrent… I knew everything about them in a billionth of a nanosecond… And then, something changed…

Toshiro moved his hand before Aya, and it got coated in a constant flux of energy, similar in color to what she saw in his eyes.

"That's your Celestial Order, but…" she extended her hand fired up her own power. "It's so different."

"Because it's not the Celestial Order right now, sweetie," he smiled and patted her on the head with that hand. "According to what our "primordial" friend told me, this is now called the Celestial Equilibrium. Because of Livy "adding" her power to me, when Mavet's and Maeve's existence were added to me, instead of exploding or being just "put on the backburner" for me to use, they all fused, synergized and amplified, gaining whole measures of power. Right now, again, according to our "friend," I could single-handedly take on our blonde goody-two-shoes with her micro-self in hand, which is on a wild goose chase now, and have a fair chance at winning, assuming nobody would interfere. I basically transcended the concept of the Elder God right now, being only a bit less powerful than my creator. And she promised on her true name that it was the truth, not just a convenient lie so I'll feel good."

"Oh… My… G…randpa!" Aya shouted surprised. "But… What will you do now? Because…"

"I know what you're thinking now, Aya…" Toshiro sighed. "And you're right, that's the way I'll go. But it's not just because I could be a danger to this multiverse… It's also because I'll be committed to another project."

"Project?"

"I'll create my own omniverse, but empty for now. And then, I'll revive Livy…"

"Grandpaaaaa… That sounds awfully Frankensteinesque…"

"Don't worry, Aya. I said Livy won't be returning, but I didn't rule out she won't be alive, right? The thing is, there's a speck of her alive in me. I don't feel Mavet or Maeve, but I feel her existence inside me. I calculated that it will take about forty-two trillion years to restore her in her Elder Godly state, even with my power right now. And no cheating with time skipping, sadly…"

"Forty-two trillion years…" Aya gasped. "And how long would it take to restore her as a… normal god?"

"I could snap her into existence right now, but I've been told she wouldn't survive that…"

"Oh…" Aya frowned sadly. "So you're leaving for forty-two trillion years, huh?"

"Exactly, Pumpkin. Don't worry, you have all your family with you, and a ton of friends. The "clones" I left with you are now the real Toshiro and Yoshika, so really, don't worry."

"I know, Grandpa," she smiled and hugged him tightly. "I talked to them a bit, and I'm already treating them like the real things."

"And good for you," he patted her on the head again, and suddenly a spark skipped between his hand and her head.

"Hey, that hurt!" Aya pouted. "Grandpa, don't abuse your granddaughter…"

"I switched your Celestial Order with the Celestial Equilibrium," he winked. "It'll set me back a few hundred years, but it's worth it."

"Oh? And what does it change for me?"

"Not much in your current state, to be honest… You'll just have it a lot easier doing anything, heheh… Bye now, Aya."

"B... Ah, wait! What... What about Maia?"

"Don't worry, dearest. She already knows about it. When I leave, you'll know her localization, and your teleportation skills are good enough to visit her. Go and console her a bit, okay?"

"Sure, Grandpa," she smiled. " _Aufwiedersehen_!" Aya grinned and saluted to him.

Toshiro saluted with two fingers and disappeared, but the darkness around Aya didn't dissipate. And just then, the two missing blondes appeared.

"You just missed my Grandpa becoming the embodiment of the word "legend"" Aya smiled warmly as the darkness waned and the normal world with all her friends returned before her eyes.

* * *

In total nothingness, Toshiro took his hand before his chest, and pulled out a small, monochromatic spark before himself.

"Ma…ster…" Livy's frail voice reached him.

"Don't worry, Livy, I'll restore you to your former glory… Even if I'll have to wait for longer than the concept of time predicts…"

"Love… you…"

"I love you too, Livy…" Toshiro said warmly.

* * *

 _And so, I begun my ultimate penance… Because I could, not because I must... And forty-two trillion years are not the time I needed to restore Livy, but to try to mend my own heart... I'm sorry that I had to lie and seclude myself for such a long time, Aya..._ _Actually you'll probably see me in a thousand years, since i'll detach myself from the Primordial Goddesses omniverse, so the time flow will be vastly different..._ _Well, at least Livy's not suffering right now, and won't suffer any further... I'll restore her shell at a "barely" Elder God level so she can exist physically at my side in just a moment, but restoring her entire power, the combined power of Livy and Mavis, will take a wee bit longer... Maybe I'll be lucky and do it in a decade? I really don't know the true extent of my power... But I can feel every Elder God out there... Even those that are just about to be born... Good luck you all, and I'm sorry that you will be shouldering the burden of godhood because of my actions...  
_

 _I look at a point in the infinite nothingness of my pocket "omniverse" and sense my creator just watching me. Don't worry, I know that You know, that I know I won't return to my "old turf" or at least not before my own deadline passes. You best prepare everyone and everything for my arrival in the case I don't "mend" myself, or outright ban me. Right now, if I saw Kye, and she'd start wisecracking as usual, I'd probably rip her to shreds... And that is precisely why I have to leave all of the creation that You have brought into existence, and live past the Nexi, past what is tangible, or intangible... A place where only You can peek into, and save me from misery.. Well, at least You won't tell Kye and the rest about my true status, that's comforting... Let them simmer in their own sauce of vain and self-righteous pride, thinking that they're the saviors of the Existence, and the most powerful entities that exist, of course sans P.G... How I absolutely despise that attitude of hers...  
_

 _It's cruel of You, You know? I can repair an Elder God's existence, but I can't afflict my own psyche... Omnipotence my ass... But I deserve any fate that comes at me...  
_

 _Because I'm the man who sold the world._

* * *

 **For something more fun, read Doran Maya's Legendary Witches ending.  
**

* * *

 **I could only end this with a reference to the best game ever. The end is here, and so is my career as a Strike Witches fanfiction writer. Good night, everyone! I wish everyone at least half a 'success' like mine!**


End file.
